The final whistle went at 06:34 Swedish time in Rogers Arena in Vancouver and goalkeeper Thatcher Demko was thanked by the players as Vancouver won its 37th victory of the season and is the best in the entire NHL with 80 points.
The match was definitely decided in the third period when Elias Pettersson first missed the puck, got hold of it again and played sideways to Elias Lindholm who pulled in 4-1.
Elias Pettersson, three assists, was about to score his fourth point but it was one pass too many when Detroit had picked off the goaltender in the closing minutes.
Nashville crushed in ‘terrible match’
Dallas beat Filip Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist’s Nashville with a terrible 9-2.
– It was just a terrible match from us. There is no other way to explain it away. We weren’t ready to play., losing every close game, giving them free chances and leaving our goalkeeper completely abandoned. It’s the worst to leave our goalies completely abandoned like that, says Nashville defender Ryan McDonagh.
The score mirrored the game and Dallas won the shots in the first period 18-1. It was the sixth time Nashville had just one shot on goal in a period.