For nearly the entirety of Tuesday's game between the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators, the goalies stole the show. Yet, when it came down to the last five minutes, the Predators smelled blood.
The Predators scored three times in less than four minutes after the Caps took a late 1-0 lead in the third period and held on for a 3-1 win.
Troy Brouwer broke the scoreless tie after nearly 55 minutes at 15:14. Marcus Johansson brought the puck up alongside the left boards and sent a centering pass to Brouwer. Brouwer used Mike Fisher as a screen and fired a wrist shot past Pekka Rinne blocker side to give the Caps a 1-0 lead. It was Brouwer's fifth goal of the season.
Less than 30 seconds later, however, Tomas Vokoun looked human for the first time when Martin Erat beat him at 15:42. Fisher sent a pass to Shea Weber as he was cutting to the net. Weber sent a no-look pass across the crease that caught Vokoun flat-footed and left Erat wide open for a tap-in.
With 25 seconds left, the Predators took their only lead of the game. Colin Wilson worked the puck in the offensive zone and created space for himself to send a pass to Erat behind the net. Erat was able to find enough space between the post and Vokoun to send a centering pass to a charging Wilson, who put it in the net for his fourth goal of the season. Shea Weber added an empty-net goal five seconds later to seal the victory.
Rinne made 39 saves, while Vokoun made 28 of his own in a solid performance. The Caps have now lost six of nine and will head to Winnipeg to face the Jets Thursday.