The Good Guys:
Tyson Jost scored his first goal as a member of the Preds in Tuesday’s loss, and Filip Forsberg tallied as well. Captain Roman Josi leads the club with four assists and five points, followed by Forsberg, Marchessault, Erik Haula and Ryan O’Reilly, who all have identical statlines (2g-2a) with four points apiece. Michael Bunting and Nick Perbix have also scored twice for Nashville. Juuse Saros took the loss on Tuesday and is now 2-2-2; Justus Annunen fell in his only start of the young season.
The Opposition:
After winning three straight decisions, the Canucks were defeated in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night ahead of their final outing of their five-game road trip tonight in Nashville. Conor Garland (2g-5a) leads Vancouver seven points, followed by Quinn Hughes (1g-4a) with five points. Former Preds forward Kiefer Sherwood leads the Canucks with four goals on the season. Thatcher Demko is 3-1-0 in net thus far; former Preds goaltender Kevin Lankinen is 1-2-0.
All-Time Meetings:
The Preds are 37-43-(2)-7 all-time against the Canucks, including a 19-19-(1)-6 mark in Nashville. The Predators are 5-4-1 in their last 10 outings against Vancouver and 2-3-0 in their last five against them at Bridgestone Arena.
Notables Versus Vancouver:
Jonathan Marchessault has recorded 26 points (11g-15a) in 25 career games against Vancouver, the fourth-most points he has vs. a single franchise. He has points in four of his last five meetings with Vancouver (3g-2a).
Steven Stamkos has collected 31 points (19g-12a) in 23 games against the Canucks. His 1.35 points per game against Vancouver is tied with San Jose for the most he has recorded against any team in his career (min. 3 GP).
Roman Josi ranks sixth (1.4) among all NHL blueliners in expected goals, per moneypuck.com. Josi has points in nine of his last 14 games (2g-8a) against Vancouver. He also has 19 points (2g-17a) in his last 23 games vs. the Canucks and posted a six-game point streak (7a) against Vancouver from Jan. 10, 2017-Dec. 13, 2018.
Luke Evangelista scored his first two career NHL goals on March 6, 2023 at Vancouver. He became the second player (Jordan Gross) in Predators history to score his first two career NHL goals in the same game.
Milestone Watch:
Brady Skjei is two games from 700 in his NHL career.
Michael Bunting is three goals from 100 in his NHL career.
Ryan O’Reilly is three power play goals from 100 in his career.
Steven Stamkos (228) is four power play goals from passing Dino Ciccarelli (232) for the 10th-most in NHL history.
Watch & Listen:
Coverage for tonight’s contest begins at 6:30 p.m. CT with the Predators LIVE! pregame show on FanDuel Sports Network South, hosted by Lyndsay Rowley and Hal Gill. Play-by-play announcer Willy Daunic, analyst Chris Mason and rinkside reporter Kara Hammer will have the call on the television side.
Voice of the Predators Pete Weber and Jay More will call the game on 102.5 The Game and the Predators Radio Network, with pregame, postgame and intermission coverage by Max Herz beginning one hour before puck drop. The game will also be broadcast in Spanish on El Jefe which airs on 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM and 810 AM. (El partido también se transmite en español por El Jefe en 96.7 FM, 105.3 FM y 810 AM.)