Rick Tocchet addresses Michael McCarron's hit on Casey DeSmith

The Vancouver Canucks narrowly edged the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead, despite only managing 12 shots on goal the entire game. Casey DeSmith stopped 29 of 30 shots in the victory and notably received a brutal hit from Predators forward Michael McCarron.

The towering Nashville forward met DeSmith behind the Canucks' goal, where the two collided and fell to the ice. McCarron was assessed a two-minute penalty and later fined $2,000 for the hit but faced no other disciplinary action. One person who was not impressed with the play was Canucks' head coach Rick Tocchet, who was adamant about the intentional nature of the hit:


— Rick Tocchet


The Canucks are already short-manned in goal, with starting goaltender Thatcher Demko sidelined for the remainder of the series and possibly longer should they advance in the playoffs. Rookie Arturs Silovs has been backing up DeSmith since Demko was injured in Game 1 and would likely see action should DeSmith go down.

The teams will play a critical Game 4 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, where the Canucks will either take a commanding 3-1 series lead or the Predators will even it as they head back to Vancouver.