March 10, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Nicholas Haig (41) and Seattle Kraken forward Matty Veniers (10) battle for the puck during the second period at Climate Pledge Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Image The Nashville Predators will try to keep their playoff hopes alive when they visit the last-place Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
The Predators revitalized their late-season playoff push with a 4-2 comeback win over Seattle on Tuesday night. That puts them just one point ahead of them in the battle for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
“We’re going to fight for another day,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said after his team was held to four unanswered goals and suffered a two-goal loss in Game 1.
The Predators haven’t won a playoff round in seven years, so beating Seattle to earn the final wild card would be a nice way to honor longtime executive Barry Trotz, who announced last month that he would soon retire as general manager.
The only race the lowly Canucks are in is the last place in the league, shedding assets like dollar store prizes while shamelessly trying to improve their chances of landing the first overall draft pick that many scouts predict will be Canadian forward Gavin McKenna.
Vancouver looked like a rudderless ship after trading captain Quinn Hughes and leading scorer keeper Sherwood in the first half of the season. Getting rid of veterans Conor Garland and Tyler Myers for draft picks just before Friday’s trade deadline didn’t help.
“It’s hard to see a lot of players leave this season,” U.S. forward Max Sasson said during Tuesday’s practice. “But that’s what happens in the end.
“We still have great veterans around us and a mix of different ages. We can all step up and lead in our own way.”
The Canucks haven’t won a home game since late January, and part of that has to do with having the worst penalty kill in the league with a completion percentage of just 70.9%. Coach Adam Foote has been experimenting with different combinations of young players on the penalty kill.
“They need reps,” Foote said Tuesday. “You can talk about it and really guide them through it, but they have to go out and learn the hard way.”
Vancouver began its eight-game homestand with a 2-0 loss to Ottawa on Monday night.
The Canucks have lost nine of their last 10 games (1-6-3) and have yet to record back-to-back home wins this season.
Meanwhile, the Predators scored three unearned goals in the second period to take a 3-2 lead, and Steven Stamkos sealed the win with an empty-net goal with five seconds left in the game.
“Obviously the first period wasn’t very good,” Brunette said after Tuesday’s game. “We were a little sleepy, but we did well in the second game and I thought we were better the rest of the way.”
“We just played to our identity in the second period,” said Reid Schaefer, who scored one of the second-period goals against Seattle to make up for the deficit. “We had the puck deep, we were smart, we protected the puck down low and got to the net. It was a fun game, honestly.”
This is the third and final game of the season between the Canucks and Predators after splitting their first two games. The Canucks won 5-4 in overtime on November 4 and the Predators won 2-1 on October 23.
–Field level media
