Thursday Night NHL: Vancouver vs. Nashville

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Thursday Night NHL: Vancouver vs. Nashville

The Nashville Predators will have the daunting task of trying to stop the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

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Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin got the Canucks' four-goal first period started in a 5-1 win over the Predators on Oct. 20, also at Rogers Arena. It was their first matchup since Vancouver ousted Nashville in six games in the second round of last spring's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Roberto Luongo played every minute of the Canucks' series win over the Predators in the 2011 postseason and backstopped their earlier win this season, but Cory Schneider has become the man of the moment in the Pacific Northwest. Schneider got an opportunity a couple weeks ago when Luongo missed a brief period of time due to injury, and he currently has Vancouver on a five-game winning streak.

This is the finale of a five-game road trip that has seen Nashville score only five goals while winning once on the first four stops. Back in net Tuesday after Anders Lindback made just his second start of the season in a win over Edmonton this past weekend, Pekka Rinne was the team's best player in Calgary, but a Derek Smith goal with 1:10 left in the first period was enough to beat him. Rinne had shut out the Flames in their previous meeting with the Predators.

Schneider has been making it nearly impossible for coach Alain Vigneault to return Luongo to the crease, even though the No. 1 has been healthy and dressing as backup for the past several games. Schneider has followed up consecutive shutouts with back-to-back performances of 40-plus saves, including a career-high 47 stops in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Columbus. Daniel Sedin and David Booth staked him to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes and despite the Blue Jackets' best efforts to get back in the game, Schneider wouldn't let them.

The Preds will finish up a road trip that has caused them some headaches, so don’t be surprised if they pass up this game looking forward to the trip home.