Predators 5, Canucks 1
Colin Wilson collected two goals and two assists as host Nashville overcame an injury to All-Star Pekka Rinne to record its fourth straight victory.
Mike Fisher and Craig Smith each scored and set up a goal, rookie Filip Forsberg netted his team-leading 15th tally and Mike Ribeiro notched two assists as the Predators won their sixth straight at home to improve to an NHL-best 17-2-1 at Bridgestone Arena. Carter Hutton turned aside all 10 shots he faced in relief of Rinne (20 saves), who suffered a lower-body injury early in the third period as he denied a hard-charging Chris Higgins before sliding into the end boards.
Defenseman Alex Edler scored the lone goal for the Canucks, who opened a five-game road trip by dropping their third in a row. Eddie Lack turned aside 25 shots while making his second straight start with Ryan Miller being plagued by flu-like symptoms.
Nashville wasted little time getting the early jump as Wilson backhanded a feed from behind the net to Smith on the doorstep for an easy conversion during a power play at 4:07 of the first period. Wilson wasn't done as he skated in on a 2-on-1 rush with Fisher before beating Lack from the right faceoff circle at 6:22.
A chaotic scramble in front resulted in Rinne losing his stick, and Edler took full advantage by one-timing a shot from the right circle at 2:47 of the second period to halve the deficit. Forsberg's sharp-angle shot from deep in the right circle squeezed underneath the left arm of Lack with 6 1/2 minutes to play in the third before Fisher and Wilson netted goals 2:08 apart to seal the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Rinne was being evaluated and is considered day-to-day. ... Nashville LW James Neal also notched two assists in his return from a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury. ... The Predators went 2-for-6 on the power play to improve to 7-for-67 at home with the man advantage while Vancouver yielded the fifth and sixth tallies in its last 56 times short-handed. ... Edler and Smith led their respective teams with six and five shots, respectively.