The Nashville Predators will see forward Kiefer Sherwood and goalie Kevin Lankinen for the second time as members of the Vancouver Canucks organization this season.
Meanwhile, Nashville is still looking for the first win on their current trip after losing the first three contests by a combined score of 15-7.
After two solid seasons of production in Nashville Lankinen and Sherwood opted for a change of scenery with a new opportunity.
Lankinen wasn’t returning to the Predators after his camp said Juuse Saros’ extension had no effect either way on re-signing. The Finnish netminder didn’t sign a deal until Sept. 21 while NHL training camps were still going. He took over the crease as the Canucks began the season without starter Thatcher Demko.
As the starter, Lankinen has gone 15-6-4 this season and became the first goalie in NHL history to begin a season to win his first 10 road games. Lankinen is just three wins shy of a new career-high in wins during a season.
On the other hand, Sherwood has been rambunctious in Vancouver just as he was with Nashville. So far he’s posted 19 points in 37 games and broken his career-high in goals during a season with 12.
Sherwood currently leads the NHL with 214 hits as of Friday before any games have been played. According to NHL stats, he’s averaging 23.83 hits per game and is chasing down defenseman Jeremy Lauzon’s NHL record of 383 hits in a season that was set last year.
Nashville is likely to see Lankinen holding down the fort tonight despite coming in for an injured Demko last night in the second period against the Seattle Kraken. Defenseman Noah Juulsen bumped into Demko’s right side which led to his departure after 27:49 of action.
After the game Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said Demko had back spasms following a brief connection with Juulsen.
The Predators are tasked to take down a Canucks team who is 4-3-3 in their last 10 games with two wins coming in regulation. Nashville will need to keep close tabs on Canucks forward Brock Boeser who has seven goals in his last 10 games with two coming on the powerplay.
Since Dec. 12 Vancouver’s powerplay has been 5-for-23 while the penalty kill is ranked No. 10 in the NHL allowing four goals on 28 times being shorthanded.
As Nashville continues its road trip they have recalled forward Ozzy Wiesblatt who is making his NHL debut tonight in front of his family after spending the last three seasons in the AHL. The Calgary, Alberta native will then get to play in his hometown against the Flames the next night to cap off a back-to-back.
Defenseman Spencer Stastney is back in the fold as well with Jeremy Lauzon (lower-body) and Adam Wilsby (upper-body, day-to-day) being out with injuries.
Stastney is back on the ice after starting the NHL season on the non-roster list for undisclosed reasons. He made his return to the AHL on Nov. 27 and played in his first game on Dec. 7.
Play-by-play voice for 102.5 The Game Max Herz said on ‘X’ that Wiesblatt skated on Nashville’s fourth forward line while Stastney was alongside Luke Schenn on the third defensive pairing.
Albeit he played in 20 regular season games last season, Stastney had an on-ice goals-for percentage of 69.57 in all strengths which led all Nashville defensemen. The Predators had 18.99 expected goals under the same parameters when Stastney was playing.
Schenn was primarily paired with Stastney in 16 games last season. Head coach Andrew Brunette looks to keep that up and has Justin Barron slated to skate with captain Roman Josi.
Forward Zachary L’Heureux was suspended three games on Thursday for slew-footing Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon on New Year’s Eve. He’ll be able to return next weekend when the Predators host the Washington Capitals.
Stay tuned for tonight’s game right here on 102.5 The Game with Max and Hal Gill on the call. Adam Vingan is filling in as the host for the pre and postgame show with updates during the intermission breaks.
Predators Thursday practice lines in Vancouver @1025TheGame:
Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
Nyquist-O’Reilly-Hinostroza
Jankowski-Novak-Evangelista
Wiesblatt-McCarron-SissonsJosi-Barron
Skjei-Blankenburg
Stastney-SchennL’Heureux is practicing but not with a line
— Max Herz (@MaxHerzTalks) January 2, 2025
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of the Nashville Predators
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