Canucks at Predators preview

CANUCKS (11-10-4) at PREDATORS (15-6-3)
8 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, FS-TN, NHL.TV

The Predators, 5-0-1 in their past six games and 10-1-1 in their past 12, are 9-1-1 at home this season. Goaltender Pekka Rinne will look to win his sixth straight start; he has allowed nine goals through five consecutive victories.
The Canucks look to avoid their fourth consecutive loss. Vancouver, 0-2-1 in its past three games and 3-5-2 in its past 10, announced Thursday that forward Derek Dorsett was forced to retire from the NHL because of health reasons and risks associated with playing.

Players to watch

Canucks forward Brock Boeser has eight points (six goals, two assists) in his past eight games. Forward Daniel Sedin is two points away from 1,000 in the NHL.
Predators forward Filip Forsberg has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past nine games.

They said it

"Hopefully it inspires us to maybe find another gear. We weren't very good [in a 5-2 loss at the New York Islanders on Tuesday]. Maybe we can use this as motivation to find a win for him and his family. At the end of the day it's a hockey game that we've definitely got to focus on, but right now we're going to take the time to think about him." -- Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher on forward Derek Dorsett
"When we're attacking at the points where we need to when the puck is at the half-wall or maybe when there's a 50-50 puck, if all four guys are reacting in the same way and are on the same page, I think that's when the penalty kill is at its best." -- Predators forward Austin Watson on Nashville's penalty kill, ranked third in the NHL at 84.3 percent

Canucks projected lineup

Sven Baertschi -- Bo Horvat -- Brock Boeser
Daniel Sedin -- Henrik Sedin -- Jake Virtanen
Nikolay Goldobin -- Alexander Burmistrov -- Sam Gagner
Thomas Vanek -- Markus Granlund -- Loui Eriksson
Alexander Edler -- Derrick Pouliot
Michael Del Zotto -- Chris Tanev
Ben Hutton -- Troy Stecher
Anders Nilsson
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Alex Biega, Brendan Gaunce
Injured: Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Brandon Sutter (undisclosed)

Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala -- Kyle Turris -- Craig Smith
Colton Sissons -- Nick Bonino -- Calle Jarnkrok
Miikka Salomaki --
Frederick Gaudreau
-- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Mattias Ekholm
Alexei Emelin -- P.K. Subban
Matt Irwin -- Anthony Bitetto
Pekka Rinne
Anders Lindback
Scratched: Cody McLeod, Pontus Aberg
Injured:Ryan Ellis (knee), Scott Hartnell (lower body), Yannick Weber (lower body)

Status report

The Canucks held an optional morning skate. … Ellis took part in the morning skate for the first time since his injury.

Stat pack

Vanek has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his past eight games, with points in seven of them. … Johansen has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past seven games.