The Nashville Predators and the Vancouver Canucks meet Tuesday in Game 2 Western Conference NHL Playoffs action at Rogers Arena. Here’s a Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks prediction.
Nashville Predators Team Preview
The Nashville Predators come into this game looking to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to the Canucks in the series opener last time out. The Preds looked primed to be up 1-0 in the series with goals from Jason Zucker and Ryan O’Reilly, but gave up three goals in the 3rd to give up the opener to the Canucks. Filip Forsberg leads the Predators in scoring with 94 points including a team-high 48 goals and 46 assists while Ryan O’Reilly has 69 points with 26 goals of his own and 43 assists. Gustav Nyquist has 75 points with 52 assists while Roman Josi has 85 points of his own with a team-leading 62 assists. Juuse Saros has made 63 starts in goal for Nashville this season, going 35-24-5 with a 2.86 GAA and a .906 save percentage while Kevin Lankinen is 11-6 with a 2.93 GAA and a .908 save percentage this season.
Nashville Predators Team Facts
- The Predators have won seven of their last eight games against Pacific Division opponents.
- The home team has covered the puck line in seven of the Predators’ last eight games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Predators’ last 10 games against Pacific Division opponents.
- The Predators have lost the third period in four of their last five games as underdogs.
Vancouver Canucks Team Preview
The Vancouver Canucks will try to take the 2-0 series lead and head to the Music City with a couple of wins in hand after using three 3rd period goals to rally for the win with Pius Suter and Dakota Joshua scoring 12 seconds apart to tie the game and give the Canucks the lead for good in game one. J.T. Miller leads the Canucks in scoring with 103 points including 37 goals and 66 assists while Elias Pettersson has 89 points with 34 goals and 55 assists. Quinn Hughes has 92 points with a team-high 75 assists and Brock Boeser has 73 points with a team-high 40 goals and 33 assists. Thatcher Demko’s gone 35-14-2 with a 2.45 GAA and a .918 save percentage in goal for Vancouver while Casey DeSmith is 12-9-6 with a 2.89 GAA and an .896 save percentage this season.
Vancouver Canucks Team Facts
- The Canucks have lost each of their last three games as favorites following a home win.
- The Canucks have covered the puck line in each of their last six games against the Predators.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Canucks’ last 10 games following a home win.
- The Canucks have won the third period in each of their last four games as home favorites following a home win.
Predators vs. Canucks Prediction
I want to take Nashville to bounce back, as they were in control for a lot of that game against the Canucks, but I have to side with Vancouver at home again here. Vancouver’s simply the better team in my eyes and they really showed me something by battling and not giving in when the going got rough in game one. The Canucks gave themselves the chances to stay in the game and struck in quick succession when the opportunity arose. Nashville hasn’t dropped back-to-back games often in the last couple of months, but Vancouver was a really tough nut to crack at home and I don’t think the Predators break through in game two. Give me the Canucks.