After stealing a 4-3 shootout win against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night, the Vancouver Canucks (18-11-8) are back in a playoff spot and will host the Nashville Predators (11-20-7) at 7 p.m. at Rogers Arena on Friday night for the second leg of their back-to-back.
The Canucks will again be without Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, who continue to miss time due to injury. Although he played a lot less than usual, Canucks star J.T. Miller managed to step up in the absence of his teammates, delivering the shootout winner against the Kraken and securing a vital two points for the Canucks.
The Canucks are 4-1-0 in their last five games against the Predators and 5-3-2 in their last 10. Miller has eight goals, eight assists, and 16 points in 24 career games against the Preds.
Canucks Game Lineup
Jake DeBrusk - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser
Nils Hoglander - Pius Suter - Conor Garland
Danton Heinen - Teddy Blueger - Kiefer Sherwood
Dakota Joshua - Max Sasson - Phil Di Giuseppe
Derek Forbort - Tyler Myers
Carson Soucy - Noah Juulsen
Guillaume Brisebois - Vincent Desharnais
Kevin Lankinen is confirmed to be the Canucks starting goalie against the Predators on Friday night and will face his former team once again. Lankinen relieved the injured Thatcher Demko against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night and will see the ice again. Arturs Silovs was recalled on an emergency basis and will serve as the Canucks backup goalie.
Predators Game Lineup
Filip Forsberg - Steven Stamkos - Jonathan Marchessault
Gustav Nyquist - Ryan O'Reilly - Vinnie Hinostroza
Mark Jankowski - Tommy Novak - Luke Evangelista
Ozzy Wiesblatt - Michael McCarron - Colton Sissons
Roman Josi - Justin Barron
Brady Skjei - Nick Blankenburg
Spencer Stastney - Luke Schenn
Juuse Saros is confirmed to be the starting Predators goalie for Friday night's game against the Canucks. Saros is 8-16-6 this season with a 2.82 GAA, a .903 save percentage, and three shutouts.
How to watch the Canucks game
Friday night's Canucks game will be streamed on Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, and FanDuel Sports Network South. For fans unable to watch the Canucks game, Sportsnet 650 will be the radio broadcast available for your listening.