VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Filip Forsberg scored a goal and had an assist, and the Nashville Predators beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Tuesday night to level their best-of-seven playoff series at 1-1.
Anthony Beauvillier — a former Canuck — also had a goal and an assist for the Predators, Colton Sissons and Kiefer Sherwood had goals, and Juuse Saros made 17 saves.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Filip Forsberg scored a goal and had an assist, and the Nashville Predators beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Tuesday night to level their best-of-seven playoff series at 1-1.
Nashville Predators' Jeremy Lauzon, left, checks Vancouver Canucks' Sam Lafferty during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser (6) watches as his shot bounces off the post and stays out of the net behind Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros (74) while Alexandre Carrier (45) and Canucks' Conor Garland (8) watch during the second period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith looks back at the puck as it bounces out of the net after Nashville Predators' Anthony Beauvillier, not seen, scored during the first period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks' Dakota Joshua (81) collides with Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros makes a save as Jeremy Lauzon (3) and Vancouver Canucks' Elias Pettersson, second from right, work next to him during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks' Pius Suter, left, misses the open net as Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros is tied up with Canucks' Brock Boeser during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros, back left, Mark Jankowski (17) and Luke Schenn (2) celebrate after Nashville defeated the Vancouver Canucks during Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Nashville Predators' Filip Forsberg, left, celebrates his goal, next to Vancouver Canucks' Noah Juulsen during the second period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Nikita Zadorov scored for a Vancouver team that struggled to get shots on net and experienced a series of unlucky bounces.
Nashville coach Andrew Brunette liked the way his Predators put their bodies on the line, blocking 31 shots.
“I think that’s maybe something we learned from Game 1 a little bit,” Brunette said. “Maybe we weren’t as committed to the pain and tonight (we were), with the blocked shots and the things that we did sacrificing our body. So we learned and we’re still growing. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re getting better and today was a good step.”
Zadorov said the Canucks may be able to take something from the way their opponents played.
“They’re super desperate, they’re laying out for every puck, they’re trying to block with their faces. So that’s what maybe we can learn from them in that particular thing,” he said. “It’s hard to win. I mean, it’s playoff hockey. It’s a long series. There’s no panic in the room.”
The Canucks were playing without All-Star goalie Thatcher Demko, who was ruled out with an undisclosed injury. He is “week-to-week,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said after the game.
Casey DeSmith took over in net and stopped 12 of 15 shots, but he got off to a poor start.
Forsberg sent a long shot flying from inside the blue line and Beauvillier, stationed above the hash marks, deflected it in past an out-of-position DeSmith to put the Predators up 1-0 just 1:14 into the game.
Beauvillier started the season in Vancouver before the Canucks dealt him to the Blackhawks to shed salary in November. Chicago then sent the left-winger to Nashville in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick ahead of the NHL trade deadline in March.
“I was fortunate enough to be in on three great organizations this year, starting here and then bounced to Chicago,” Beauvillier said. “And that’s what you live for, that’s why you play hockey. You want to compete for the Stanley Cup and play meaningful hockey.”
The Canucks had three power plays in the first period but struggled to get shots on net.
Elias Pettersson came close to tying the score on a man advantage late in the opening period.
Saros slid over to stop Quinn Hughes as he powered toward the net, but the defenseman passed to Pettersson and the center fired at the empty net, only to have the puck glance off the post.
Both teams went 0 for 4 on the power play.
“We had some chances, some looks on the (power play), some empty nets we didn’t capitalize on,” Tocchet said. “Maybe we got a little frustrated. But we threw a lot of rubber around that area. We’ve got to keep doing that. I think the game plan is there, we’ve just got to start executing.”
The Predators took a two-goal lead midway through the second when Forsberg collected a pass from Gustav Nyquist, stickhandled his way toward the net and fired a shot past DeSmith at the 7:29 mark.
Ninety-five seconds later, the visitors took a three-goal lead when Sissons batted in the rebound of a shot by Beauvillier.
Zadorov cut the deficit to 3-1 with less than five minutes to go in the second. His shot from above the faceoff circle hit the stick of Nashville’s Mark Jankowski and the puck sailed in over Saros’ right shoulder.
Vancouver pulled DeSmith for an extra attacker with just over two minutes left but Sherwood beat Hughes to a loose puck along the boards and put a shot into the empty net 18:07 into the third period.
UP NEXT
The series shifts to Nashville for Game 3 on Friday.
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Nashville Predators' Jeremy Lauzon, right, checks Vancouver Canucks' Nils Hoglander during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Nashville Predators' Jeremy Lauzon, left, checks Vancouver Canucks' Sam Lafferty during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser (6) watches as his shot bounces off the post and stays out of the net behind Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros (74) while Alexandre Carrier (45) and Canucks' Conor Garland (8) watch during the second period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith looks back at the puck as it bounces out of the net after Nashville Predators' Anthony Beauvillier, not seen, scored during the first period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks' Dakota Joshua (81) collides with Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros makes a save as Jeremy Lauzon (3) and Vancouver Canucks' Elias Pettersson, second from right, work next to him during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vancouver Canucks' Pius Suter, left, misses the open net as Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros is tied up with Canucks' Brock Boeser during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros, back left, Mark Jankowski (17) and Luke Schenn (2) celebrate after Nashville defeated the Vancouver Canucks during Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Nashville Predators' Filip Forsberg, left, celebrates his goal, next to Vancouver Canucks' Noah Juulsen during the second period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
BRETTEVILLE-L'ORGUEILLEUSE, France (AP) — On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old U.S. Army medic who was ready to give his life — and save as many as he could.
Now 99, he’s spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he’s about to take part in the 80th anniversary commemorations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation.
“I guess I was prepared to give my life if I had to. Fortunately, I did not have to,” Shay said in an interview with The Associated Press.
A Penobscot tribe citizen from Indian Island in the U.S. state of Maine, Shay has been living in France since 2018, not far from the shores of Normandy where many world leaders are expected to come next month. Solemn ceremonies will be honoring the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the U.S., Canada and other nations who landed on June 6, 1944.
Nothing could have prepared Shay for what happened that morning on Omaha Beach: bleeding soldiers, body parts and corpses strewn around him, machine-gun fire and shells filling the air.
“I had been given a job, and the way I looked at it, it was up to me to complete my job," he recalled. "I did not have time to worry about my situation of being there and perhaps losing my life. There was no time for this.”
Shay was awarded the Silver Star for repeatedly plunging into the sea and carrying critically wounded soldiers to relative safety, saving them from drowning. He also received France’s highest award, the Legion of Honor, in 2007.
Still, Shay could not save his good friend, Pvt. Edward Morozewicz. The sad memory remains vivid in his mind as he describes seeing his 22-year-old comrade lying on the beach with a serious stomach wound.
“He had a wound that I could not help him with because I did not have the proper instruments ... He was bleeding to death. And I knew that he was dying. I tried to comfort him. And I tried to do what I could for him, but there was no help," he said. "And while I was treating him, he died in my arms.”
“I lost many close friends,” he added.
A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself, including 2,501 Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded.
Shay survived. At night, exhausted, he eventually fell asleep in a grove above the beach.
“When I woke up in the morning. It was like I was sleeping in a graveyard because there were dead Americans and Germans surrounding me,” he recalled. “I stayed there for not very long and I continued on my way.”
Shay then pursued his mission in Normandy for several weeks, rescuing those wounded, before heading with American troops to eastern France and Germany, where he was taken prisoner in March 1945 and liberated a few weeks later.
After World War II, Shay reenlisted in the military because the situation of Native Americans in his home state of Maine was too precarious due to poverty and discrimination.
“I tried to cope with the situation of not having enough work or not being able to help support my mother and father. Well, there was just no chance for young American Indian boys to gain proper labor and earn a good job,” he said.
Maine would not allow individuals living on Native American reservations to vote until 1954.
Shay continued to witness history — returning to combat as a medic during the Korean War, participating in U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands and later working at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria.
For over 60 years, he did not talk about his WWII experience.
But he began attending D-Day commemorations in 2007 and in recent years, he has seized many occasions to give his powerful testimony. A book about his life, “Spirits are guiding” by author Marie-Pascale Legrand, is about to be released this month.
In 2018, he moved from Maine to Bretteville-l’Orgueilleuse, a French small town in the Normandy region to stay at a friend’s home.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, coming from his nearby home, he was among the few veterans able to attend commemorations. He stood up for all others who could not make the trip amid restrictions.
Shay also used to lead a Native American ritual each year on D-Day, burning sage in homage to those who died. In 2022, he handed over the remembrance task to another Native American, Julia Kelly, a Gulf War veteran from the Crow tribe, who since has performed the ritual in his presence.
The Charles Shay Memorial on Omaha Beach pays tribute to the 175 Native Americans who landed there on D-Day.
Often, Shay expressed his sadness at seeing wars still waging in the world and what he considers the senseless loss of lives.
Shay said he had hoped D-Day would bring global peace. “But it has not, because you see that we go from one war to the next. There will always be wars. People and nations cannot get along with each other."
People walk by a bunker in Longues-sur-Mer, Normandy, Thursday, April 11, 2024. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The monument called Les Braves, dedicated to the American soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, is seen on Omaha Beach at sunset, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, Thursday, April 11, 2024. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Students walk by a bunker in Longues-sur-Mer, Normandy, Thursday, April 11, 2024. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
This photo taken on Wednesday April 10, 2024, shows crosses of the US cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The sun rises on the US cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The sun rises on Omaha Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
This photo taken on Wednesday April 10, 2024, shows crosses of the US cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
This photo taken on Wednesday April 10, 2024, shows crosses of the US cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A man walks on Gold beach in Arromanches, Normandy, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. In the background are the remains of the artificial harbor of Arromanches. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A girl watches the monument called Signal, dedicated to the American soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, on Omaha Beach at sunset, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
People walk on Omaha beach at sunset, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Men of the American assault troops of the 16th Infantry Regiment, injured while storming a coastal area code-named Omaha Beach during the Allied invasion of the Normandy, wait by the chalk cliffs at Collville-sur-Mer for evacuation to a field hospital for further treatment, June 6, 1944. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo, File)
U.S. Army medical personnel administer a plasma transfusion to a wounded comrade, who survived when his landing craft went down off the coast of Normandy, France, in the early days of the Allied landing operations in June 1944. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf from a landing craft in the days following D-Day and the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France at Normandy in June 1944 during World War II. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (Bert Brandt/Pool via AP, File)
FILE - WWII veteran Charles Shay, 97, right, and Gulf war veteran Julia Kelly pay tribute to soldiers during a D-Day commemoration ceremony of the 78th anniversary for those who helped end World War II, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, Monday, June 6, 2022. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation.(AP Photo/ Jeremias Gonzalez, File)
WWII veteran Charles Shay, is pictured at his home Sunday, March 24, 2024 in Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse, Normandy. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Schaeffer)
FILE — WWII veteran Charles Shay, pays tribute to soldiers during a D-Day commemoration ceremony of the 78th anniversary for those who helped end World War II, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, Monday, June 6, 2022. On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old Native American army medic who was ready to give his life — and actually saved many. Now 99, he's spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he's about to take part in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. (AP Photo/ Jeremias Gonzalez, File)
