Down 3-1 in a series? Nashville Predators' Andrew Brunette has been there - and won - twice
After Sunday's devastating Game 4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators coach Andrew Brunette has the difficult - but not impossible - task of engineering his team out of a 3-1 series deficit.
The good thing for the Predators? He's been through this before - twice.
As a player for Minnesota in 2003, Brunette was part of not one, but two 3-1 series comebacks for the Wild.
In the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota fought back to tie the series, forcing Game 7 at the Pepsi Center. In overtime of that game, Brunette scored the series-winning goal, putting the puck past eventual Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy.
In 2003, the Minnesota Wild were down 3-1 in their series to the Avalanche. They fought back to force Game 7, where in overtime, on the road, Andrew Brunette did this. pic.twitter.com/GyP4do5iF0
— Alex Daugherty (@AlexDaugherty1) April 30, 2024
Then in the next round, Minnesota got down 3-1 in a series against the Vancouver Canucks. Once again, the Wild forced Game 7, where they beat Canucks 4-2 to win the series. Brunette played in all seven games and finished with six points.
After Game 4's overtime loss on Sunday - which put the Predators down 3-1 in the series - Brunette recalled those moments from his playing career, empathizing with his players, knowing how hard these losses can hit.
"I've lost some tough ones as a player, where you fall behind," Brunette said. "But I was very fortunate we came back and won both of those series, when we were down 3-1."
Can Nashville Predators, Andrew Brunette overcome 3-1 series deficit vs Vancouver Canucks?
No one more than Brunette knows the feeling of losing like the Predators did in Game 4.
In that semifinal series against the Canucks in 2003, the Wild had a 2-1 late lead in Game 4 at the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota. Then Vancouver's Ed Jovanovski tied the game with just over two minutes left in the game. In the overtime period, Brent Sopel scored on the power play to win the game for Vancouver, giving them a 3-1 series lead.
It wasn't a two-goal lead like Nashville had in Game 4 on Sunday, but any lost lead in the playoffs is devastating. Brunette knows what it's going to take in Game 5 (and beyond) if the Predators want to win the series.
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"Etch-a-sketch. Goldfish mentality," Brunette said on Monday, implying the need to forget about Sunday's result. "You had to go and win a game (at Rogers Arena) regardless. You just go win one. All the focus and all the effort is just about (Tuesday) night."
As the Predators face elimination in Game 5 against the Canucks on Tuesday (9 p.m. CT, TBS), Brunette knows the story of the series is not over yet.
"Things happen fast. Things change fast. Let's change the narrative."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators' Andrew Brunette overcame 3-1 series deficit twice
