Nashville Predators vs Vancouver Canucks Prediction 4-26-24 Picks

The Vancouver Canucks and the Nashville Predators meet Friday in Game 3 Western Conference NHL Playoffs action at the Bridgestone Arena. Here’s a Canucks vs. Predators prediction.

Game Two Recap: Preds Even Series

The Nashville Predators were able to use Game two to even the series up at one win apiece after a 4-1 win over the Canucks. Anthony Beauvillier opened the scoring quickly for the Preds, just 1:14 into the Game and the Preds would carry that lead into the second where Filip Forsberg and Colton Sissons would score 1:35 apart to push Nashville’s lead to 3-0. Nikita Zadorov got the Canucks on the board with just under five minutes to go in the second, but that was as close as the Canucks would get, scoring just once on 18 shots in the loss. Kiefer Sherwood ensured the win for the Preds with an empty-netter with under two minutes to go in the Game. Juuse Saros got the win for Nashville after stopping 17 of 18 shots faced in the win while Casey DeSmith ended up with the loss, allowing 3 goals on 15 shots in the defeat.

Vancouver Canucks Player Stats

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 won each of their last six games against the Predators following a loss.
• The Canucks have covered the puck line in each of their last seven games against the Predators following a loss.
• The Canucks have lost the third period in four of their last five games as underdogs following a home loss.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in seven of the Canucks’ last eight games.

Nashville Predators Player Stats

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 favorites have won each of the Predators’ last eight games at Bridgestone Arena.
• The Predators have covered the puck line in each of their last 10 night games following a road win.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in each of the Predators’ last eight home games against Western Conference opponents.
• The Predators have won the third period in each of their last six home games against Western Conference opponents.

Canucks vs. Predators Prediction

I’m leaning towards the Predators here. I have some increased faith that Casey DeSmith can in fact lead the Canucks in goal, but the reality is I’d feel a lot better with Thatcher Demko between the pipes and with Demko re-aggravating his knee injury, that doesn’t look like a possibility for the next little bit. The Preds were consistent with their play home and away and I trust Juuse Saros in goal a lot more than I feel comfortable backing DeSmith. This Game’s rightfully lined at a coin flip price, but I think Nashville does enough on home ice to take the series lead in this one. Give me Nashville here.