The Nashville Predators continue their road trip tonight as they face the Vancouver Canucks.
Now that the dust has settled after a frenetic flurry of trade action, a "reset" Nashville Predators roster will take the ice tonight against the 25-32-5 Vancouver Canucks. While Nashville traded away players like Nino Niederreiter, Tanner Jeannot, Mattias Ekholm, and Mikael Granlund, the Canucks' trade deadline talk centered around who didn't get moved from their roster - J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. Both are top five points scorers this season for the Canucks and will be just two of the players the Preds will contend with tonight.
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Vancouver's top scorers are line mates Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko who each have 29 goals so far this season. Miller and Boeser are third and fifth respectively in points while Quinn Hughes leads Vancouver with 54 assists. Plenty of offensive weapons still hasn't always been enough to overcome the defensive challenges especially with Oliver Edman-Larsson and Ethan Bear out with injuries. Goaltending has been a challenge for the Canucks, too. Both Spencer Martin and Thatcher Demko have save percentages below .900.
Nashville has their own challenges with injuries going into tonight's game. Ryan Johansen will likely miss the remainder of the season, Juuso Pärssinen has been out of the lineup since being injured February 23, and defenseman Alexandre Carrier is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with an upper body injury. Phil Tomasino did not return to the game Saturday night against Chicago after taking a hard hit into the boards, so his status for tonight is still unclear. Filip Forsberg is with the team on the road trip and skating in a non-contact jersey, but it is unlikely he will take the ice tonight.
What they Predators do have is reliable goaltending between Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen and plenty of pluck when it comes to a younger and hungry lineup. Cody Glass, Luke Evangelista, Kiefer Sherwood, and Tommy Novak have generated plenty of offensive chances while new players like Tyson Barrie, Rasmus Asplund, and Cal Foote work to impress their new head coach. This Predators team may have lost key pieces at the trade deadline, but they will continue battling tonight for two points and a chance at a wildcard opportunity.
Keys to the Game
1. Special teams could win this game. The Canucks rank 9th in the league on the man advantage thanks to Kuzmenko, Miller, and Hughes. Even with a solid penalty kill, the Predators need to avoid the penalty box. Conversely, the Canucks rank dead last in the penalty kill, so if Nashville earns a power play the Preds need to take advantage of it.
2. Contain the line of Beauvillier, Pettersson, and Kuzmenko. This is the most potent line for the Canucks, and Nashville will need to manage the puck well when these three are on the ice.
3. Veterans lead from the front. While it is exciting to see the fresh faces on Nashville's roster lately, veterans Roman Josi, Matt Duchene, Colton Sissons, and Ryan McDonagh need to lead the team not just in points but in setting high expectations when it comes to pace and execution tonight.
How to Watch
Tonight is a late puck drop scheduled for 9:30 pm CST. Bally Sports South will broadcast the game and 102.5 The Game will have the radio call.