Early look The full preview opens on Sunday 17 January, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators: game preview

Puck drop20 Jan · 2:00 PM ET
VenueBridgestone Arena
All-time meetings108 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Twenty-eight points apart last season

Vancouver finished last season 32nd in the league on 58 points. Nashville finished 23rd on 86.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 109

Across 108 completed games, Vancouver lead the head-to-head 63-36-9.

All-time record63-36-9Vancouver's record in the series
Meetings played108This is number 109
2025-26 series—
Last 53-2Vancouver
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
12 Mar 2026NSH 3 – VAN 4 SO——VAN
3 Nov 2025VAN 5 – NSH 4 OT——VAN
23 Oct 2025VAN 1 – NSH 2——NSH
29 Jan 2025VAN 3 – NSH 1——VAN
3 Jan 2025NSH 3 – VAN 0——NSH
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateVancouverNashville
23 Oct 20254-4-0 · 8 pts16th3-3-2 · 8 pts17th
3 Nov 20257-7-0 · 14 pts21st5-6-3 · 13 pts28th
12 Mar 202620-37-8 · 48 pts32nd29-27-9 · 67 pts24th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 23 Oct 2025, Vancouver were 16th in the league and Nashville 17th. By 12 Mar 2026 it was 32nd and 24th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Nashville out-attempted Vancouver 173 to 173

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Vancouver Canucks

173 att · 85 on goal · 9 G · 10.6%
Crease14 att · 1 G
Slot67 att · 6 G
Wing70 att · 1 G
Point20 att · 1 G
Neutral zone2 att · 0 G

Nashville Predators

173 att · 83 on goal · 9 G · 10.8%
Crease14 att · 3 G
Slot66 att · 3 G
Wing72 att · 2 G
Point20 att · 1 G
Neutral zone1 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Nashville have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

VancouverNashville
2.44xG for per game2.50
3.15xG against per game3.14
43.6%xG share44.3%
+9.2FinishingGoals minus expected goals−0.5
−5.4GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed+0.4

This season: 4 games for Vancouver, 3 for Nashville. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Vancouver

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2723.1%
Power play · 2025-2621.8% · 14th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2768.8%
Penalty kill · 2025-2671.5% · 32nd
Faceoffs · 2026-2749.3% · 112/227
Drawn · 2026-2713 (3.25/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2716 (4.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Nashville

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2737.5%
Power play · 2025-2623.1% · 11th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2775.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2681.7% · 5th
Faceoffs · 2026-2747.6% · 80/168
Drawn · 2026-278 (2.67/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-278 (2.67/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
47Paul Cotter44261.50
23Marco Rossi43141.00
91Steven Stamkos33141.33
21Nils Hoglander33031.00
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
17Filip Hronek40551.25
5Tom Willander40330.75
59Roman Josi31231.00
76Brady Skjei30110.33
47Jack Ahcan20110.50
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 18 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 18 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Vancouver crease

VAN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 17 Jan

Kevin Lankinen.8243 GP · 1-2-0 · GSAx −6.4
Leevi Meriläinen.9432 GP · 1-0-0 · GSAx +1.0

No appearances against Nashville in the last meetings.

Nashville crease

NSH · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 17 Jan

Juuse Saros.9073 GP · 1-1-1 · GSAx +0.4

No appearances against Vancouver in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.6 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

12 Mar 20267 · NSH 3–4 VAN
3 Nov 20259 · VAN 5–4 NSH
23 Oct 20253 · VAN 1–2 NSH
29 Jan 20254 · VAN 3–1 NSH
3 Jan 20253 · NSH 3–0 VAN

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Vancouver4.754.502.633.85
Nashville2.333.003.013.28

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.6Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings5.2Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

6 on the injury lists

Vancouver · injuries

Akil ThomasUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Filip ChytilShoulderIRReturn8 Oct
Jack ThompsonUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Mackenzie MacEachernUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Thatcher DemkoHipIRReturn21 Dec

Nashville · injuries

Justus AnnunenUndisclosedIRReturn13 Oct
27 Sep · VAN

Placed G Nikita Tolopilo on waivers.

25 Sep · VAN

Claimed G Leevi Merilainen off waivers from Ottawa. Placed F Filip Chytil on injured reserve. Assigned F Braeden Cootes to Abbotsford (AHL).

24 Sep · VAN

Assigned Fs Ty Mueller, Riley Patterson, Ilya Safonov and Chase Wouters, Ds Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio to Abbotsford (AHL). Loaned F Ben Berard and D Isaac Belliveau to Abbotsford. Waived for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford F Trey Fix-Wolansky and Ds Cole Clayton and Jimmy Schuldt.

6 Oct · NSH

Recalled G Matt Murray from Milwaukee (AHL). Placed G Justus Annunen on injured reserve.

4 Oct · NSH

Recalled LW Yegor Pinchuk from Milwaukee (AHL). Assigned G Matt Murray to Milwaukee.

3 Oct · NSH

Recalled G Matthew Murray from Milwaukee (AHL).

Injury report
#3Caleb MalhotraRound 1 · BrantfordC
#24Adam NovotnyRound 1 · PeterboroughLW
#33Brooks RogowskiRound 2 · OshawaC
#41Niklas Aaram-OlsenRound 2 · Orebro Jr.LW
Full draft
#10Wyatt CullenRound 1 · Usa U-18LW
#31Thomas BleylRound 1 · MonctonD
#70Dmitri BorichevRound 3 · Loko-76 YaroslavlG
#106Jakub FlorisRound 4 · Lukko Jr.D
Full draft

Updated after every final