Nashville Hosts Vancouver to Begin Back-to-Back Set
The Nashville Predators begin a back-to-back set to start the week when they host the Vancouver Canucks tonight for a 7:30 p.m. CT puck drop at Bridgestone Arena. This evening’s contest is the second of three meetings between the Preds and Canucks this season, the first of which came less than two weeks ago as the Predators came away with a 2-1 victory.
Nashville snapped a three-game skid on Saturday afternoon with a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames, and they’ll now look to start a new streak and top the Canucks for the second time in as many weeks.
“You’re happy for them,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said of his team following Saturday’s win. “Obviously a lot of us are squeezing the stick with them here through this stretch, and it was nice to see some pucks go in, finally, and hopefully they feel good about that.”
Predators forward Cole Smith left Saturday’s game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. On Sunday, the Preds announced Smith will miss the next 3-6 weeks due to injury, and in a corresponding move, Captain Roman Josi was placed on Injured Reserve with his upper-body injury.
Defensemen Adam Wilsby (lower body, day-to-day) did not play on Saturday; forward Tyson Jost was Nashville’s lone healthy scratch for Saturday’s win.
The Predators did not practice on Sunday but are expected to hold a morning skate today at Bridgestone Arena.
Michael Bunting, Matthew Wood, Jonathan Marchessault and Filip Forsberg all tallied for the Preds on Saturday. Bunting also added a pair of assists, and Wood has now scored his first two NHL goals in Nashville’s past two games.
Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly have identical statlines (5g-4a) to co-lead the Preds with nine points. Bunting (3g-4a) and Erik Haula (2g-5a) have seven points each, while Marchessault (4g-2a) and Luke Evangelista (1g-5a) each have six points. Juuse Saros, who got the win on Saturday, is now 5-4-2 in net; Justus Annunen is 0-2-0.
The Canucks have alternated wins and losses in their last five outings, including a 5-2 loss in Minnesota on Saturday. Conor Garland (3g-8a) leads Vancouver with 11 points, while former Preds forward Kiefer Sherwood has nine goals through 13 games this season. Elias Pettersson has three goals and eight points for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko is 4-4-0 in net; former Preds goaltender Kevin Lankinen is 2-3-0.
The Preds are 38-43-(2)-7 all-time against the Canucks, including a 20-19-(1)-6 mark in Nashville. The Predators are 5-4-1 in their last 10 outings against Vancouver and 2-3-0 in their last five against them at Bridgestone Arena.
Jonathan Marchessault has recorded 26 points (11g-15a) in 26 career games against Vancouver, the fourth-most points he has vs. a single franchise. He has points in four of his last six meetings with Vancouver (3g-2a).
Steven Stamkos has collected 31 points (19g-12a) in 24 games against the Canucks. His 1.29 points per game against Vancouver are the second-most he has recorded against any team in his career (min. 3 GP).
Evangelista scored his first two career NHL goals on March 6, 2023 at Vancouver. He became the second player (Jordan Gross) in Predators history to score his first two career NHL goals in the same game.
Michael Bunting is two goals from 100 in his NHL career.
Ryan O’Reilly is three power play goals from 100 in his career.
Steven Stamkos (228) is four power play goals from passing Dino Ciccarelli (232) for the 10th-most in NHL history.
Coverage for tonight’s contest begins at 7 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side.
Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Jay More will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz beginning one hour before puck drop. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)
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