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The Nashville Predators are set to host the Vancouver Canucks for the third game of the NHL Playoff West 1st Round at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Friday at 7:30 p.m. EDT, broadcasted on TBS, MAX, SN, TVAS2, and BSSO. Both teams are currently tied at 1-1 in the series.
Vancouver managed to take the lead in the series with a 4-2 win on Sunday night, making a comeback in the final period. However, Nashville bounced back with a 4-1 win on Tuesday night, ending the series and gaining the home ice advantage.
Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks: Game preview
The Vancouver Canucks, with a road game record of 23-14-4 and an overall record of 50-23-9, have scored 279 goals while conceding 221, resulting in a scoring differential of +58. They are averaging 2.50 goals per game and conceding 3.00 goals per game.
In second game of the series, Vancouver's struggle to get shots on the net proved costly. The shots were tied at four in the first period, but was down 1-0 at the first break.
The second period saw an equal number of shots at eight, but Vancouver was outscored 2-1 and trailed 3-1 after 40 minutes. Nikita Zadorov scored his first playoff goal, assisted by Ian Cole and Philippe Di Giuseppe, bringing Canucks back into the game after being 3-0 down.
In the third period, despite having a 6-4 shot advantage, they conceded the only goal of the period, resulting in a loss. Casey DeSmith, who made 12 saves and held an 18-16 shot advantage, will be in goal tonight again due to Thatcher Demko's injury.
Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators, who have a 5-7 record in their last 12 games, hold a home record of 23-16-2 this year and an overall record of 47-30-5.
They are managing to score an average of 3.00 goals per game and concede 2.50 goals per game, with a 12.5% success rate on the power play in this playoff series.
Nashville had a strong performance in the first game, but they gave up a 2-1 lead in the third period. In the second game, Nashville took an early lead, scoring just 74 seconds in, and they were up 3-0 before Canucks managed to score.
The Predators had only 16 shots on goal, with Filip Forsberg contributing one goal, two assists, and six shots on goal in the ongoing series.
Juuse Saros, who made 17 saves for the Predators in their win despite being outshot 18-16, is expected to be the starting goaltender again. He has a goals against average of 2.01 and a save percentage of .895 in the series.
Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks: Injury report
Tucker Poolman of the Vancouver Canucks is currently out of action due to a head injury, and the team's star goalie, Thatcher Demko, is questionable due to an undisclosed issue.
On the other hand, the Predators will be missing Dante Fabbro, who is dealing with an upper-body injury, and the availability of Alexander Carrier is doubtful due to an upper-body injury.
Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks: Head-to-head and significant numbers
The Predators have an all time playoff record of 3-5-0 against the Canucks.
In the ongoing series, the Predators' win rate in faceoffs stands at 43.0%, while the Canucks lead with a win rate of 57.0%.
The Predators have a perfect 100% success rate in penalty kills, whereas the Canucks have a success rate of 87.5%.
Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks: Odds and prediction
Being the odds favorite, Nashville has a winning record in 27 of its 40 games, giving them a nearly 53.7% chance of success for tonight's game. They have also won 22 of their 34 games when the odds were set lower than -116.
Conversely, Vancouver, despite being the underdogs in 28 games, has still managed to secure victories 16 times. With odds of -104 or greater, they have a 13-10 record, giving them a winning probability of 51.0%.
Prediction: Predators 5 - 3 Canucks
Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks: Betting tips
Tip 1: Predators to win
Tip 2: Total goals over 4.5: Yes
Tip 3: Filip Forsberg to score anytime: Yes
Tip 4: Gustav Nyquist to assist first: Yes
Tip 5: Canucks to beat the spread: No.
