For the first time this season, the Vancouver Canucks (9-4-3) will play on consecutive nights when they host the Nashville Predators (5-10-3) at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks are coming off a 4-1 win over Chicago on Saturday night. Elias Pettersson and Erik Brännström staked the home team to a 2-1 lead early in the third period while JT Miller and Teddy Blueger sealed the victory with late empty netters. Arturs Silovs made 26 saves for his first NHL win since last spring’s playoffs.
Pettersson has scored four goals in his last six games and with five goals on the season, is one off the team lead shared by Brock Boeser, JT Miller, and Pius Suter. Brännström’s goal was his second in three games and stood as his first career game-winner. As a team, the Canucks have a goal from a defenceman in five consecutive outings.
With the condensed schedule this weekend, the team did not hold a morning skate so there is no word on any line-up changes. With only 12 healthy forwards on the roster, it would seem the Canucks will keep the lines intact from last night’s win.
The only change expected is in goal where Kevin Lankinen will face the team he played for last season. Lankinen served as the back-up last night after making six straight starts. He allowed four goals on 32 shots in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Former Pred Kiefer Sherwood reached the 100 hit mark for the season last night in his 16th game. He leads the NHL hit parade and has 25 more hits than the next closest forward. Tonight’s game features the top two hitters in the league with Nashville defenceman Jeremy Lauzon sitting second on the list with 87 hits on the season.
It’s Hockey Fights Cancer night which takes on added significance this year with Dakota Joshus returning to the line-up on Thursday after a testicular cancer diagnosis in September. The big forward has seven hits in his two games back so far, however he has yet to register a shot on goal or a point.
The visitors
The Predators limp into town on the heels of a 2-0 loss in Calgary on Friday night. It’s the third time in 18 games the Preds have been held off the scoresheet.
Nashville has just one road victory in eight tries (1-4-3) and has managed a league-low 13 goals away from home this season. Through the first five weeks of the season only Anaheim has scored fewer goals overall than Nashville.
The Preds have dropped the first three games of a five-game road trip which wraps up in Seattle on Wednesday. Overall, the club has one victory in its last seven games (1-4-2).
Filip Forsberg leads the Predators with eight goals and 13 points. Captain Roman Josi is second in scoring with one goal and 12 points. Steven Stamkos has had a difficult adjustment in his first season with the Predators. He has four goals and eight points – however only two of those points have come at 5-on-5. Fellow newcomer Jonathan Marchessault has three goals in his first season in Music City.
One area the Preds excel in is the penalty kill, where they lead the league at 92.1%. They’re even better on the road, where they are 93.9%. Nashville has surrendered a league-low five power play goals this season, and two came in the same game against Florida.
The Predators sit tied for 31st in the overall standings along with Chicago – both teams have 13 points. They are tied with San Jose for the fewest wins with five. These teams that met in the opening round of last spring’s playoffs will face off three times this season, with the Preds back in Vancouver on January 3rd and the Canucks at Bridgestone Arena on January 29th.
Tonight’s referees: Gord Dwyer & Brandon Schrader
Tonight’s broadcasters: John Shorthouse & Ray Ferraro
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