Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators Blank Vancouver Canucks 3-0 in Goaltending Duel

Juuse Saros earned his fourth shutout of the season as the Nashville Predators blanked the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0, Friday at Rogers Arena.

It was a goaltending duel between Saros and his fellow countryman and former Predators backup, Kevin Lankinen. Saros stopped all 27 shots he faced, while Lankinen stopped 16 of 17.

With the win, the Predators move to 4-13-4 on the road and 12-20-7 on the season.

How the Predators lined up vs. Vancouver

Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
Nyquist-O’Reilly-Hinostroza
Jankowski-Svechkov-Evangelista
Wiesblatt-McCarron-Sissons

Josi-Barron
Skjei-Blankenburg
Stastney-Schenn

Saros
Annunen

Extra: Lauzon (day-to-day, lower-body), Novak (day-to-day, upper-body), L’Heureux (sus.)

IR: Smith, Wilsby

Predators forward Zachary L’Heureux was out of the lineup after being issued a three-game suspension for slew-footing Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon in Tuesday’s game. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and forward Tommy Novak, who both sustained injuries during Tuesday’s game, were sidelined against the Canucks and are listed as day-to-day. Additionally, defenseman Adam Wilsby joined forward Cole Smith on IR.

The Predators recalled forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt and Fedor Svechkov, as well as defenseman Spencer Stastney, from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals ahead of Friday’s game. Wiesblatt made his NHL debut against Vancouver, while Stastney made his Predators debut for the season after missing all of training camp due to personal reasons. Svechkov made his NHL debut in November and scored two goals in nine games for Nashville in 2024-25 before being reassigned to Milwaukee last month.

The Canucks, playing on the second leg of a back-to-back after Thursday’s shootout win over the Seattle Kraken, were also missing several key players against the Predators. Defensemen Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, as well as forward Elias Pettersson, were all sidelined for Vancouver due to injuries.

Game Summary

The Predators and Canucks were tied in shots in the first period with nine each, but neither team was able to put a goal on the board in the first 20 minutes. Gustav Nyquist had the two best chances for the Predators in the opening frame, including a missed shot on a wide open net and another chance that forced a great save from Lankinen. J.T Miller had the best look for Vancouver with a breakaway chance that was denied by Saros.

Despite getting outshot 10-4 in the second period, the Predators were the first team to find the back of the net. After Roman Josi made a big block in the defensive zone, Stamkos scored on the counter-attack; he fed the puck inside to Jonathan Marchessault, who returned it to Stamkos for a one-timer from the circle to put the Predators up, 1-0.

With Lankinen pulled for the extra attacker, Nyquist scored into the empty net at 18:17 of the third period – his first goal since the empty-netter he scored the last time these two teams met Nov. 17 – to extend Nashville’s lead to 2-0. Vancouver native Colton Sissons scored into the empty net just over a minute later for the 3-0 final.

Key Takeaways & Notes

With the primary assist on Stamkos’ goal in the second period, Marchessault now has 15 points (9 goals, 6 assists) in his last 11 games.
With the secondary assist on Stamkos’ goal, Filip Forsberg padded his team leads in assists (22) and points (31).
In his NHL debut, Wiesblatt finished with two hits in 9:40 of ice time.

Up Next

The Predators continue their six-game road trip Saturday with a visit to the Calgary Flames. The puck drops at 9 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers in the United States.

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