Predators at Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks return home for four games with two wins in their last eight contests (2-4-2) and a tenuous hold on the Northwest Division lead. The Canucks will take the ice on Thursday against the visiting Nashville Predators, who are tied with San Jose at the bottom of the league in goals scored with 58. Nashville began its five-game road trip by snapping a six-game road winless streak on Tuesday with a 4-0 victory at Dallas. Pekka Rinne made 32 saves for his league-leading fifth shutout - and second in three starts. Rinne struggled recently, allowing 20 goals during a stretch of five starts (1-4-0), but still holds a 2.00 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
The Canucks needed a shootout against Columbus on Tuesday to reclaim sole possession of the top spot in the division from Minnesota. Despite committing over $9 million on its goaltending, Vancouver has been inconsistent in net - swapping between Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo to varying degrees of success. Schneider is winless in his last three starts, while Luongo allowed one goal on 27 shots on Tuesday after allowing 11 goals in his previous two games. Vancouver, which has one win in its last five home games (1-2-2), needs its goaltending to be strong to compensate for the hole in secondary scoring caused by Ryan Kesler’s broken foot.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, TSN, Fox Sports Tennessee
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (11-9-6): Nashville’s already-thin offense took a big hit on Monday when it placed Patric Hornqvist and leading scorer Colin Wilson on injured reserve with upper-body injuries. Captain Shea Weber set the tone for the short-handed Predators in their win over Dallas with a goal and a fight, extending his point streak to four games (six points). David Legwand, who had two assists on Tuesday, has four points on a three-game streak. Nashville is 5-for-10 with the man advantage in its last three games, but has allowed at least one power-play goal in six of its last eight.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (12-7-6): Luongo made 23 saves for his second shutout in a 1-0 win at Nashville on Feb. 22. With defensemen Kevin Bieksa (groin) and Chris Tanev (arm) day-to-day with injuries, blue-liners Cam Barker and Andrew Alberts are facing increased responsibility. Barker has two assists in four games - all in March. Alberts recorded his first point - an assist - in a 4-3 loss at Minnesota on Sunday. Captain Henrik Sedin saw his seven-game point streak come to an end in the win over Columbus. Vancouver hasn’t scored a power-play goal in nine games.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver RW Dale Weise scored the only goal the last time these two teams met.
2. Nashville C Paul Gaustad left Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury, dealing another blow to the Predators’ offensive depth.
3. Nashville D Ryan Ellis, listed generously at 5-10 and 175 lbs, got into his first NHL fight on Tuesday when Dallas' Eric Nystrom challenged him in the third period.
PREDICTION: Canucks 2, Predators 1