Predators at Canucks preview

PREDATORS (19-8-1) at CANUCKS (11-16-3)
10 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-TN, NHL.TV

Goaltender Pekka Rinne will make his sixth straight start and 11th straight appearance for the Predators, who are without top-six forwards Kyle Turris, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson, and defenseman P.K. Subban because of injury.
Goalie Jacob Markstrom will start for the Canucks who have lost four straight (0-3-1) and 12 of 13 (1-10-2).

Players to watch

Nashville forward Kevin Fiala, who replaced Forsberg on the top line, has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past six games.
Canucks center Bo Horvat has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past eight games, and leads the team with 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists).

They said it

"It leaves a little bit less room for error when you take out a lot of firepower but the style and identity tries to remain the same. But certainly you can't help but notice some of the guys who are out of the lineup." -- Nashville coach Peter Laviolette
"As a coach, you are worried about different things when you are losing. You are still teaching your team. We have a lot of young players we are trying to make better but you are also worrying about their emotional psyche."-- Canucks coach Travis Green

Predators projected lineup

Kevin Fiala -- Ryan Johansen -- Ryan Hartman
Eeli Tolvanen -- Calle Jarnkrok -- Craig Smith
Miikka Salomaki -- Colton Sissons -- Austin Watson
Frederick Gaudreau -- Nick Bonino -- Rocco Grimaldi
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Dan Hamhuis -- Mattias Ekholm
Matt Irwin -- Yannick Weber
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched:Zac Rinaldo, Anthony Bitetto
Injured:Viktor Arvidsson (broken thumb), P.K. Subban (upper body), Kyle Turris (undisclosed), Filip Forsberg (upper body)

Canucks projected lineup

Nikolay Goldobin -- Bo Horvat -- Jake Virtanen
Josh Leivo -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Antoine Roussel -- Adam Gaudette -- Loui Eriksson
Markus Granlund -- Jay Beagle -- Tyler Motte
Alexander Edler -- Chris Tanev
Ben Hutton -- Erik Gudbranson
Derrick Pouliot -- Troy Stecher
Jacob Markstrom
Anders Nilsson
Scratched:Tim Schaller, Michael Del Zotto, Alex Biega
Injured: Brandon Sutter (shoulder), Sven Baertschi (concussion)

Status report

Laviolette said each goalie is expected to play on the two-game road trip, so Saros should start Saturday against the Calgary Flames. … Goldobin, who is third in Canucks scoring with 16 points (four goals, 12 assists), returns to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in a 3-2 loss against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. ... Del Zotto, who was in the penalty box for two goals against the Wild, is a scratch for the first time since sitting out eight straight games in October.

Stat pack

Johansen has three points (one goal, two assists) in the past two games and leads the Predators with 24 points (five goals, 19 assists). ... Rinne is 6-2-0 with a 2.14 goals-against average in his past nine games. … Pettersson has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past 13 games after 17 (10 goals, seven assists) his first 11 games. ... Vancouver has scored two goals of fewer in eight of their past 12 games.