Predators-Canucks Preview

The Nashville Predators failed to equal the longest road winning streak in team history last time out, but two other club-record runs remain intact.

They can extend their overall point streak to 15 games by recording one in a 14th consecutive road contest Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

Though its six-game road winning streak ended Wednesday at Calgary, Nashville (34-21-13) showed some grit by scoring twice in the third period to overcome a two-goal deficit and force overtime before falling 3-2.

''You wish every game was perfect but it's not,'' coach Peter Laviolette said. ''The big thing is they found a way to turn it around in the third period. For me that speaks volumes to the guys in the room and their commitment to get a win.''

With a firm grasp on the Western Conference's first wild-card spot, the Predators are 9-0-5 since losing 5-3 to Washington on Feb. 9. They've gone 10-0-3 in road games since dropping three straight in regulation from Jan. 8-12.

"This group has been playing well and it's finding ways to get points and that's important," forward Mike Fisher told the Predators' official website.

Nashville has two more stops remaining on a five-game trip, after which it will play eight of the final 12 at home.

The Predators are looking for a third straight victory at Vancouver (26-28-12) after a 2-1 win there Jan. 26 in the clubs' only meeting this season. James Neal scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period and Pekka Rinne made 28 saves.

Rinne, who was rested Wednesday, has a 1.61 goals-against average and .945 save percentage during a 7-0-1 road stretch. He's started the Predators' last four games against the Canucks, going 3-0-1 with a 1.84 GAA.

Rinne has helped Nashville kill 34 of 36 penalties in its last 12 games away from home, including all 10 on this trip.

Vancouver is 0 for 9 with the man advantage in its last two games but ended a three-game home losing streak with Wednesday's 3-2 overtime victory over Arizona. Recently acquired forward Markus Granlund scored his first goal as a Canuck, and backup Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves.

It was the third win in 12 home games for Vancouver, which scored more than two goals for only the third time in that span.

''You come into the room and you notice everyone is happy, everyone is smiling and that's the way you want it to be when you come in after a game, especially at home,'' Markstrom said.

''And the fans are happy, you want to play for them too. There's a lot of pride going on right now.''

Still, the Canucks have lost 12 of 18 overall and are 10 points out of a wild-card spot.

It appears a longshot that 21-year-old defenseman Nikita Tryamkin will make his debut Saturday after signing a two-year contract this week. The 6-foot-8 Russian recorded 11 points in 53 games for the Yekaterinburg Automobilis of the KHL this season.

It's also uncertain if star Henrik Sedin (upper body) will miss a third straight contest.

Fisher, who scored his second goal in three games Wednesday following a 10-game drought, has two goals and three assists in his last three against the Canucks.