The Vancouver Canucks wrap up their five-game road trip on Thursday night, and they will look to finish on a high note with a battle in Music City against the Nashville Predators.
So far, the Canucks have gone 3-1-0 on their current road trip and will want to show up with a strong effort before coming back to Rogers Arena for back-to-back games against the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and Sunday.
Max Sasson and Conor Garland have a pair of goals apiece on the road trip, while Garland leads the team with six points in his last four games. All four of Garland’s assists on the trip have been primary assists.
Jake DeBrusk has been around the net throughout the road trip and has 16 scoring chances, including 11 high-danger chances, through four games.
Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson have 10 blocked shots each through the trip, and Kiefer Sherwood has 16 hits.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Preds have early success on the penalty kill this season and are killing off 87% of their penalties. On the flip side, their power play has struggled right out of the gate, capitalizing on only two of their 24 power play opportunities.
- Nashville has been firing the puck a lot this season; they are currently attempting 62.1 shot attempts per 60 minutes of five-on-five play. That ranks them seventh in the league for shot attempts at five-on-five.
- After opening the season with a 2-0-1 record, the Preds have lost four games in a row.
- They will be playing their second game of a five-game homestand.
- Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, and Luke Evangelista come together to make up the Preds’ top line. Forsberg scored 48 goals during the 2023-24 season and leads his team with 22 shots on net through seven games.
- Steven Stamkos is in his 18th season and has collected 583 goals through his illustrious NHL career.
- Roman Josi is 10th in the league for average ice time per game. The 35-year-old defenceman is playing 24:56 per game and has a goal and an assist through seven outings this season.
The Story: Kiefer’s Keys to Success
With four goals in seven games this season, Kiefer Sherwood is leading the team in goals through the first few weeks of the season. He scored a power play goal in the team’s 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals and is third on the team for ice time from forwards on this current road trip.
“It’s been a next-man-up mentality,” said Sherwood following Wednesday’s practice.
“Guys have really dug in and stuck together. We have three out of four so far with a back-to-back in there, and they’re all against good teams. So, we’ve got to dig in tomorrow and get the job done and get four out of five.”
Sherwood believes there’s another level the team can reach and wants to see a bit more consistency as well. Those two things, along with better execution, are points that Sherwood believes the team is focused on as they close out the road trip.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Conor Garland: 2g-4a-6p
Quinn Hughes: 1g-3a-4p
Filip Hronek: 0g-4a-4p
Kiefer Sherwood: 3g-0a-3p
Tyler Myers: 1g-2a-3p
Elias Pettersson: 1g-2a-3p
When and Where to Watch
Thursday’s game is a 5:00 p.m. PT start time, and you can watch the game on Sportsnet or listen to Brendan Batchelor’s radio call on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
