The Vancouver Canucks will try to cap a four-game road trip on a positive note when they visit the Nashville Predators for tonight's battle at Sommet Center.
The Canucks began the swing with two straight wins over New Jersey and Philadelphia, but were then dealt Saturday's setback in Carolina against the lowly Hurricanes. Overall, Vancouver has struggled to a 6-9-0 record as the visiting club this season.
Following tonight's test, the Canucks will return to British Columbia to start a season-high, eight-game homestand. Vancouver will kick off the residency Thursday night against Atlanta.
Erik Cole netted his first hat trick of the season to lead the Hurricanes to the 5-3 victory over the Canucks. It was just the sixth win of the season for Carolina, which is currently last in the NHL.
Alex Burrows, Steve Bernier and Jannik Hansen had the goals for Vancouver, which had won four of its previous five games. Henrik Sedin added a pair of assists in the loss.
Andrew Raycroft gave up four goals on 27 shots in his first start since November 10. Roberto Luongo will be back between the pipes for the Canucks tonight.
Meanwhile, the Predators have lost four of their last six games since rattling off seven straight wins from November 12-25.
After posting a 4-1 win in Chicago on Friday, Nashville began a four-game homestand with Saturday's regulation loss to Minnesota. Andrew Brunette had a goal and an assist to lead the Wild to the 5-3 road win.
Martin Erat, Jason Arnott and Marcel Goc scored for the Predators. Dan Ellis was tagged for four goals on 28 shots through two periods in the loss. Pekka Rinne stopped 10-of-11 shots in the final 20 minutes.
The Preds have lost two straight and three of their last four home tests, but are still 9-6-0 as the host this season. Nashville will also welcome Columbus on Thursday before closing the homestand Saturday against Detroit.
Nashville ended a six-game series losing streak against the Canucks when the teams met last on January 28 of last season. Vancouver has won its last four and five out of six in the Music City.
