Pluses, minuses for Predators-Stars, Islanders-Canucks

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his pluses and minuses for big games each week throughout the season.

The Nashville Predators (28-14-4) visit the Dallas Stars (23-18-2) at American Airlines Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, NHL LIVE), followed by the New York Islanders (16-17-6) playing at the Vancouver Canucks (21-20-6) at Rogers Arena (10:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SNP, NHL LIVE).
Here's my breakdown of the games.

Predators

Pluses: Nashville has a five-game point streak (4-0-1) and has been a more complete team this season. Centers Matt Duchene (41 points; 21 goals, 20 assists), Ryan Johansen (34 points; 13 goals, 21 assists) and Mikael Granlund (38 points; six goals, 32 assists) and defenseman Roman Josi (team-leading 44 points; 13 goals, 31 assists) each is having a bounceback season. Rookie forward Tanner Jeannot has been a pleasant surprise with 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists), and Juuse Saros (24-11-3, 2.35 goals-against average, .927 save percentage, two shutouts in 38 starts) has been one of the best goalies in the League.
Minuses: I would like to see more offense from their defensemen in support of Josi. Alexandre Carrier is second at the position with 17 points (two goals, 15 assists) and the eight other Predators defensemen to play this season have combined for four goals.

Stars

Pluses: The top line of Joe Pavelski (48 points; 19 goals, 29 assists), Jason Robertson (41 points; 17 goals, 24 assists) and Roope Hintz (37 points; 20 goals, 17 assists) has been unreal; they are Dallas' top three scorers. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen (27 points; four goals, 23 assists) is fourth, ahead of center Tyler Seguin (23 points; 14 goals, nine assists) and forwards Jamie Benn (20 points; 11 goals, nine assists) and Alexander Radulov (15 points; two goals, 13 assists). And the Stars have three goalies who can play (Braden Holtby, Jake Oettinger and Anton Khudobin). They come back after the break for the NHL All-Star Weekend 5-2-0 in their past seven games. Let's see if they can pick up where they left off.
Minuses: This is a tough four-game stretch; after playing the Predators, they host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday and Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, and visit the Avalanche on Tuesday. Dallas is 15-6-1 at home but 8-12-1 on the road. The Stars rank 25th in the NHL on the penalty kill (76.0) and have allowed at least one power-play goal in 14 of their past 18 games.

Islanders

Pluses: Center Mathew Barzal has turned it around. He has scored 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 19 games after starting the season with eight points (four goals, four assists) in 17 games. I've liked what I've seen out of some of the young players like forward Oliver Wahlstrom, 21, and defenseman Noah Dobson, 22. After a tough start to the season (5-10-5 in their first 20 games), the Islanders have tightened up defensively and rank fifth in the NHL, averaging 2.62 goals against per game. The goaltending of Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin has given them a chance to win.
Minuses: I have a hard time believing they are going to make the playoffs; they are in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, 21 points behind the fourth-place Washington Capitals and are 1-3-0 in their past four games. This marks the start of a difficult Western Canada trip with three games in four days (at the Canucks on Wednesday, at the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, at the Calgary Flames on Saturday). New York also ranks 30th in the NHL with 2.36 goals for per game.

Canucks

Pluses: Thatcher Demko has gotten his chance to be a No. 1 goalie. Though there have been some growing pains, he's allowed two goals or fewer in four of his past five starts and looks to be the long-term answer at the position with a 18-15-2 record, 2.57 GAA, .919 save percentage and one shutout in 35 starts. Center J.T. Miller has become a top-end player and leads Vancouver with 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists) in 45 games. Center Elias Pettersson (26 points; 12 goals, 14 assists) and forward Brock Boeser (25 points; 13 goals, 12 assists) each has come alive since Bruce Boudreau replaced Travis Green as coach Dec. 5. The Canucks are 13-5-4 since the change.
Minuses: Defenseman
Quinn Hughes
will miss the game after entering NHL COVID-19 protocol. He didn't play in a 5-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday and is Vancouver's second-leading scorer with 34 points (two goals, 32 assists). The Canucks also rank last in the NHL on the penalty kill (70.8 percent).