It was a game that Carolina was leading 4-1 at one point, and it got as close as 4-3 in the end, but the Canes shut down the Nashville comeback attempt to ensure that they edged the Predators out. In a very physical game, Carolina’s players were guilty of trying to defend a lead for the last 10 minutes of this one, and it almost came back to bite them again. However, eventually, they would hit the empty cage to remove all doubt.
In a game where the defenders tallied as many goals as Carolina’s Russian sniper, it was really the blueline that had a big say in this result.