VANCOUVER − In the Nashville Predators' Game 1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, several moments contributed to their third-period collapse.

But one moment in particular − a missed play by Alex Carrier that allowed Connor Garland to find Dakota Joshua on the go ahead goal − stood out.

"(Carrier) got spun around a little bit," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said on Monday. "We had a couple pucks go through us that ended up in the back of the net."

On the play, the Canucks won the face-off at center ice and dumped the puck into the Predators' zone. As defenseman Jeremy Lauzon went to corral the puck behind the Nashville net, Elias Lindholm tied up the play. Garland then jumped on the loose puck, and found Joshua in front of the Nashville net − passing the puck between Carrier's skates − for an easy score.

Carrier − who was caught between trying to support Lauzon on the puck and covering the front of the Nashville net − was attempting to block the pass with his skates, but couldn't make the play.

"We could be a little sharper," Brunette said. "A little bit of of the rust from not playing for a week took us a while to get going. We weren't as sharp as we usually are."

By "rust," Brunette is referring to the Predators being off nearly a week before Game 1, something most teams dislike as they prepare for the playoffs.

The Predators will need to shake off any remaining rust before Game 2 on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN2) if they want any chance of a series split headed back to Nashville in the best-of-7 series.

Alex Carrier on Connor Garland pass to Dakota Joshua

When asked about the play, Carrier gave full credit to Garland for making a "great hockey play."

"He created a 2-on-1 there, then just passed it right between my legs. A perfect hockey play, not much I could do." Carrier said

It was undoubtedly a great play by Garland. But over the course of the season, Carrier has made solid defensive plays for the Predators. With Lauzon as his partner, the two have formed a steady two-way presence, and have been a formidable penalty killing duo.

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On Sunday, as Brunette said, Carrier just wasn't as sharp as he needed to be, and that moment of the third period is a perfect example.

If Carrier is quicker to see Joshua in scoring position, he had an angle to get in front of him, preventing the easy score. If he was tighter on Garland, maybe he blocks the pass with his stick (a more effective tool).

Instead, he did neither. Caught in the middle, unable to stop the play, and going for a desperation skate block that had little chance of success.

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"You can drive yourself crazy with 'what-ifs' of course," Carrier said. "I try not to blame myself too much, but there's always things you can do better."

In the NHL playoffs, small moments can become big moments in a hurry. There's no better example of that than Sunday's 12-second collapse, putting the Predators in a quick series deficit, when they looked ready to claim an early lead.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Predators coach Andrew Brunette explains Canucks' winning goal