The Vancouver Canucks (6–7–0) are hoping to get a big boost to their lineup in tonight’s match against the Nashville Predators (5–6–2). Quinn Hughes travelled to meet the team in Minnesota prior to their 5–2 loss to the Minnesota Wild, but the defenceman ultimately didn’t end up playing on Saturday. With that being said, it looks like he could slot back into the lineup tonight against Nashville, as he joined the team during practice yesterday. The Predators, on the other hand, recently put captain and star defenceman Roman Josi on the IR after he suffered an injury on October 23, which happens to be the last time these two teams played.
Vancouver is coming off a game that saw the line of Aatu Räty, MacKenzie MacEachern, and Drew O’Connor generate their lone two goals. The game before, it was Kiefer Sherwood who scored all of the Canucks goals. With the Canucks’ depth bearing the weight of offence throughout the past couple of days, many will look to Vancouver’s stars to generate goals come tonight’s match. The Canucks’ top-line of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Jake DeBrusk has yet to put up a point in each of their past three games. With Hughes expected to be back in the lineup, Vancouver’s stars will need to step up to help bring their team a win tonight.
Nashville has written a tale of two special teams so far this season with the performance of their power play and penalty kill. On the power play, the Predators are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 30th-highest power play percentage with 12.5%. The only two teams with a lower percentage are the New York Rangers (12.1%) and Carolina Hurricanes (9.4%). Their penalty kill, on the other hand, sits just outside the top-five in the NHL with an effectiveness rate of 88.4%. Nashville killed all two of the penalties they took in their last game, which was a 4–2 win against the Calgary Flames.
Quinn Hughes
As mentioned, Vancouver’s depth has been primarily filling in for the team’s offence. With tonight’s match possibly being Hughes’ first since missing last Sunday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, many will be curious to see how the star defenceman plays. While he has still been solid as per usual, many have commented on the fact that he doesn’t look to be playing the same as the year prior. Now that Hughes has had some time off to rehabilitate his injury, it’ll be interesting to see whether he comes back with as big of a bang as he has been capable of providing in the past.
Steven Stamkos
Stamkos will be a player to watch for more than one reason. The former Tampa Bay Lightning captain has not shown the same offensive prowess as he has in previous seasons, scoring only a goal and an assist in all of Nashville’s 13 games this year. Reports have circulated as of late that the Canucks may have checked in on Stamkos’ status with the Predators, though these have not been 100% verified. Regardless of whether Vancouver is actually interested in Stamkos, he’ll definitely be a player for fans to watch tonight — both in anticipation of a good offensive game as well as to gauge how he may be projected to play throughout the season.
Vancouver Canucks (6–7–0):
Points:
Conor Garland: 3–8–11
Kiefer Sherwood: 9–0–9
Elias Pettersson: 3–5–8
Quinn Hughes: 1–6–7
Brock Boeser: 4–2–6
Goaltenders:
Thatcher Demko: 4–4–0
Kevin Lankinen: 2–3–0
Nashville Predators (5–6–2):
Points:
Ryan O’Reilly: 5–4–9
Filip Forsberg: 5–4–9
Michael Bunting: 3–4–7
Erik Haula: 2–5–7
Jonathan Marchessault: 4–2–6
Goaltenders:
Juuse Saros: 5–4–2
Justus Annunen: 0–2–0
Game Information:
Start time: 5:30 pm PT
Venue: Bridgeston Arena
Television: Sportsnet
Radio: Sportsnet 650
Make sure you bookmark THN’s Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don’t forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:
Community Question: Is Canucks Elias Pettersson Getting Enough Selke Talk?
Community Question: Does Abbotsford’s Rough Start To The Season This Year Mean That The Vancouver Canucks Kept The Right Guys Up?
Vancouver’s Early Injury Woes A Factor In Abbotsford Canucks’ Dismal 2025-26 Season Start
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Hockey News