Finally back on a winning streak, the Vancouver Canucks will try to keep building momentum when they visit the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.
After a 2-1 home victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday, the Canucks began a three-game road trip in fine form with a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Monday.
It marked the first time in almost two months (since Nov. 29-Dec. 1) that the Canucks had won two games in a row. The club struggled to a 7-10-7 record in between those pairs of consecutive wins, dropping Vancouver below the Western Conference playoff line.
Monday’s win was “a big game for a lot of reasons,” Canucks forward J.T. Miller said.
“We’re trying to put multiple good games back-to-back for us as a group,” Miller said. “This is a road trip where we can come together and maybe separate ourselves from some of the teams and gain some ground.”
The Predators are 11 points behind Vancouver in the West standings, but they clawed their way back to the outskirts of the playoff race with a season-best five-game winning streak.
That hot stretch ended with Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, which Nashville coach Andrew Brunette described as “50-50 hockey.”
“We did enough to win that game, but we did enough to lose that game,” Brunette said.
As the Predators now return home after three days off, Brunette told reporters that he views the break as “a little bit of a mindset reset that we’re not afforded to play 50-50 where we’re at right now.”
Nashville’s recent special-teams play has also reflected something of a break-even set of results. Over their past nine games, the Predators are only 16-for-23 on the penalty kill, but they have also gone an impressive 11-for-31 on power plays.
Filip Forsberg had two assists against Anaheim but no goals, ending his bid at breaking his own club-record seven-game goal streak. Forsberg has 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) during a 10-game point streak, and a point on Wednesday will tie him for the fourth-longest point streak in Nashville franchise history.
Forsberg is the Predators’ season leader in goals (18) and assists (31). Jake DeBrusk leads Vancouver with 17 goals, while Quinn Hughes leads the team in assists (42) and overall points (56).
Hughes has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak.
Nashville’s Juuse Saros is expected to start on Wednesday, though his uncharacteristic struggles have led to more playing time for backup Justus Annunen. Saros has a 3-5-0 record and a .869 save percentage in his past nine appearances.
Kevin Lankinen looked excellent in stopping 56 of 59 shots over Vancouver’s past two wins. The Canucks could keep riding the hot hand in Lankinen or save him for Friday’s game with the Dallas Stars and start Thatcher Demko against the comparatively less dangerous Predators.
Demko is still trying to get on track after a long injury absence, posting a .867 save percentage over his first 12 games of the season.
The Predators are going for the season sweep after twice defeating the Canucks in Vancouver. Nashville collected a 5-3 win on Nov. 17 and a 3-0 shutout on Jan. 3.
