Game Day: Preds at Canucks Preview

With their back-to-back set in Alberta now complete, the Predators have headed west to the province of British Columbia, and they'll face the Vancouver Canucks tonight at Rogers Arena (9 p.m. CT). This evening's contest is the third of six outings on Nashville's current road trip, and they'll look for their second win of the journey when the puck drops tonight.
After a 3-2 overtime win on Tuesday in Calgary, the Preds fell to the Oilers by a 5-2 score on Wednesday night, but it wasn't all bad in the loss. Despite the win against the Flames, the Predators were not pleased with their effort, and they knew a regroup was necessary to have a chance in Edmonton. One night later, the Preds saw that improvement, and they'll look to build off of the positives tonight in Vancouver as the trip continues.

"It's a good learning process for us," Preds Captain Roman Josi said following Wednesday's loss. "[Tuesday] night, it wasn't our game and we didn't play well, but I think we see when we play to our potential, when we play our style of game, that gives us a better chance to win. We've got some huge games coming up."
The Predators will have to find success without the services of Filip Forsberg for at least the next couple of outings; Forsberg did not play Wednesday in Edmonton and is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Mark Borowiecki was also absent on Wednesday and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Forward Rocco Grimaldi and defenseman Ben Harpur took those vacant spots against the Oilers, and Predators Head Coach John Hynes discussed the moves following Wednesday's game.
"I loved that Rocco came in and played well, and Ben came in - they were ready to play," Hynes said. "They're great teammates, they bring positive energy, they work hard and they're certainly preparing themselves to be able to come in and play tonight. I thought they came in and did their part. I thought our team probably deserved a little bit better than the score - not saying we should have won the game - I think those two players came in and I think our team rallied around it… I like where we're going from that standpoint."
The Preds did not practice on Thursday in Vancouver after playing on back-to-back nights, but they did reassign goaltender Connor Ingram - who played Wednesday in Edmonton - to Milwaukee and added netminder David Rittich to the active roster. Rittich had been on the NHL's COVID list since Oct. 16, and Ingram went 1-1-0 in his first two NHL starts during his first stint with the Preds.

The Good Guys:

Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen tallied for Nashville in Wednesday's loss, and Ingram made 25 saves on the night. Josi leads the Preds in scoring with 11 points (3g-8a) in 10 games, and he's followed by Duchene with nine points (4g-5a) and then Johansen (4g-4a) and Mikael Granlund (2g-6a) with eight points each. Goaltender Juuse Saros is 4-4-0 on the season with a .922 save percentage.

The Opposition:

Vancouver had lost three in a row entering Tuesday's game against the Rangers, but they staged a comeback for a 3-2 victory in overtime for their first home win of the season. The Canucks are 4-5-1 overall, and J.T. Miller leads the club in scoring with 11 points (3g-8a). Former Coyotes forward Conor Garland has 10 points (3g-7a), Quinn Hughes has seven points (2g-5a) and Bo Horvat leads Vancouver with four goals. Thatcher Demko is 4-3-1 on the campaign with a .923 save percentage.

All-Time Meetings:

The Predators are 31-38-(2)-6 all-time against the Canucks, including a 14-23-(1)-0 record on the road. Nashville and Vancouver last met on Feb. 10, 2020 at Rogers Arena, a 6-2 defeat for the Predators.
The Predators are 2-3-0 in their last five games vs. the Canucks; they are 5-5-0 in their last 10; and 2-3-0 in their last five at Rogers Arena. Nashville is seeking to snap a three-game losing streak to Vancouver that dates back to Nov. 12, 2019.

Notables Versus Vancouver:

Ryan Johansen, a Vancouver native, owns 14 points (3g-11a) in 26 career games against his hometown team. He has three points (2g-1a) in his last four games vs. Vancouver. North Vancouver native Colton Sissons has six points (4g-2a) in 14 career games against the Canucks. Dante Fabbro hails from Coquitlam and has one assist in four career games vs. Vancouver.
Roman Josi is on a three-game point streak (3a) against Vancouver. He also has 12 points (12a) in his last 12 games vs. the Canucks and posted a six-game point streak (7a) against Vancouver from Jan. 10, 2017-Dec. 13, 2018.
Mikael Granlund is producing at nearly a point-per-game pace in his career against the Canucks, recording 20 points (5g-15a) in 22 games. He's on a three-game point streak vs. Vancouver (2g-2a) and tallied a career-high four points (3g-1a) on Feb. 4, 2017 against the Canucks.
Predators Assistant Athletic Trainer Doug Agnew is from Nelson, B.C.

Watch & Listen:

Coverage for this evening's 9 p.m. CT puck drop from Edmonton begins at 8:30 p.m. CT with the Predators Live! pregame show on Bally Sports South. Willy Daunic, Chris Mason and Lyndsay Rowley have the call on the television side, while Pete Weber and Hal Gill will broadcast on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network. Pregame coverage on the radio begins at 8 p.m. with Darren McFarland. For broadcast information and channel locations throughout the country,
click here
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