Predators at Canucks preview
Vancouver aims to end four-game winless streak; Rinne sets sights on 350th win for Nashville
by Kevin Woodley / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
PREDATORS (9-5-3) at CANUCKS (9-6-3)
10 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-TN, NHL.TV
The Game
The Vancouver Canucks will try to end a four-game winless streak when they host the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena on Tuesday.
Jay Beagle will be a game-time decision for the Canucks, who are 0-3-1 in their past four games and 1-3-2 in their past six after going 8-1-1 in their previous 10 games.
The center, who is key to Vancouver's penalty kill, ranked 10th in the NHL (84.4 percent) missed practice with an undisclosed injury on Monday but skated Tuesday and was listed as questionable by coach Travis Green.
Goalie Thatcher Demko will start; he made 31 saves in his last start, a 4-1 loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Goalie Pekka Rinne will go for his 350th NHL win for the Predators, who are 1-2-2 in their past five games following a four-game winning streak.
Players to watch
Predators defenseman Roman Josi has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games and nine assists in his last nine games against Vancouver.
Canucks forward J.T. Miller has five points (two goals, three assists) in a five-game point streak and 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games.
They said it
"We know the type of team we can be. If we win tonight we're 2-1-1 on a long 10-day, four-game road trip, and that's successful. It's a game that is probably going to define our trip." -- Predators center Matt Duchene
"It's a matter of one going in off somebody's rear end or shin pad or something. I don't know if it's us getting more pucks and bodies to the net … maybe getting in the goalie's eyes more and creating havoc out front." -- Canucks center Bo Horvat on Vancouver's power play, which is 3-for-22 (13.6 percent) in the past six games
Predators projected lineup
Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Mikael Granlund
Calle Jarnkrok -- Matt Duchene -- Viktor Arvidsson
Rocco Grimaldi -- Nick Bonino -- Craig Smith
Austin Watson -- Kyle Turris -- Colton Sissons
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- Dante Fabbro
Dan Hamhuis -- Yannick Weber
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched: Miikka Salomaki, Matt Irwin
Injured: None
Canucks projected lineup
Josh Leivo -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Sven Baertschi -- Bo Horvat -- J.T. Miller
Tanner Pearson -- Brandon Sutter -- Jake Virtanen
Tim Schaller -- Jay Beagle -- Adam Gaudette
Alexander Edler -- Tyler Myers
Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev
Jordie Benn -- Troy Stecher
Thatcher Demko
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Loui Eriksson, Oscar Fantenberg
Injured: Tyler Motte (foot), Antoine Roussel (knee), Micheal Ferland (concussion protocol)
Status report
Granlund is expected to move from the fourth to the first. … If Beagle can't play, Gaudette is expected to move to center and Eriksson will play right wing on the fourth line. … Leivo moves up to the top line in place of Miller, who drops to the second line with Horvat.
Stat pack
Bonino has six points (five goals, one assist) in his past six games. … Forsberg has five points (three goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak. … Pettersson has one assist in his past four games after having 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in his previous seven games.