The Vancouver Canucks take off on a short two-game road trip that begins tonight in Nashville with a matchup against the Predators.
Over their last seven games, the Canucks have a 2-4-1 record while the Predators have been struggling over their last stretch of games as well, posting a 2-4-0 record over their last six.
The Preds are seven points out of the second wild card spot and are stuck in a pickle of whether they will be competitive this season or not. They will need a strong run as the trade deadline is just 10 days away.
Roman Josi is leading the way for the Preds with 49 points in 54 games, including 15 goals on the season. Matt Duchene and Filip Forsberg are both having pretty good years — each of the two forwards has over 40 points on the year.
As for the Canucks, they continue to tread along with the deadline in their sights. Rumours are swirling around Luke Schenn and the team could be taking calls on multiple other players.
Let’s get to what you need to know for tonight’s game and see what was said after the morning skate.
SCENES FROM MORNING SKATE PRESENTED BY BETWAY
What we saw
Not much, as nobody reported any lines from the morning skate.
After a big win on Saturday night, we expect to see similar lines tonight.
Christian Wolanin and Luke Schenn had a great night on Saturday. The duo posted a 72.1% control of expected goals in their one game as a pairing and were on the ice for three goals for and none against. Wolanin moved the puck well and Schenn’s defensive presence gave Wolanin a chance to activate from the defensive zone and feel comfortable playing his game and not having to adjust too much in his jump from the AHL to the NHL.
After another five-point night, Elias Pettersson is absolutely rolling. No matter how you look at it, his scoring touch has been hot. He has 53 points over his last 38 games and is dominating at even strength. Pettersson should be on a line with Anthony Beauvillier and Andrei Kuzmenko as he was on Saturday night.
What we heard
Rick Tocchet confirmed that Collin Delia would get the start against the Predators.
He also spoke about Thatcher Demko’s return timeline.
“There’s no real target date,” said Tocchet. “He’s having a really good day now. [Once] he has a couple more good days, he will be ready to go. He’s doing well out there.”
J.T. Miller spoke about Beauvillier fitting in on the first power play unit after Bo Horvat was traded away.
“He’s been a pretty seamless fit,” said Miller when talking about Beauvillier jumping onto the first power play unit. “Horvat scored a lot of goals in there — a lot of different ways. So [Beauvillier] knows it’s a fun spot, but it’s also one of the most important spots on the power play. And, you know, [Beauvillier is] a smart guy. He’s picking up on the little nuances that Bo [Horvat] did before. And he’s trying to find the right spot at the right time, but at the same time, our power play has changed a lot too. We are moving around a lot more now. It’s not exactly the same, depending on who we’re playing and what the [penalty] kill is going to be like. So, [Beauvillier has] done a good job so far.”
The Canucks are in action from Nashville at 5 PM Pacific time.
Be sure to check in on CanucksArmy for the instant reaction to the game, The Stanchies, and the Statsies on the morning after.
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