Demko makes 31 saves for Canucks in win against Predators

NASHVILLE -- Thatcher Demko made 31 saves, and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Nashville Predators 3-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Brock Boeser scored his 10th goal of the season at 3:41 of the third period on the power play, redirecting J.T. Miller's pass to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead.
"We were looking for some certain plays, and that was one there," Boeser said. "We went low a few times. [Miller] made a great shot-pass there."
Elias Pettersson scored for the Canucks (18-18-3), who finished 5-3-1 during a nine-game road stretch. They played Tuesday without forwards Bo Horvat and Conor Garland, who are in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
"You take the five teams that we just played (Nashville, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers), we didn't win them all, but coming back in the last two, especially when you are missing some key components to your team, it was a big win," Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It's getting us closer to where we want to be."

Philip Tomasino scored for the Predators (24-14-3), who lost their fourth in a row (0-3-1) after going 12-1-1 in their previous 14. David Rittich made 21 saves in his first home start of the season.
"We just weren't at a level that was going to be good enough with the details of our game, to be at our best," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "We've had some good stretches here, and I think now the attention to detail we need to play with, the consistency level with that, needs to be better and that's what we want to focus on here. We're not playing the way we need to play to give ourselves a chance to win."
Tomasino made it 1-0 with a power-play goal at 2:51 of the second period. It was the rookie forward's first goal since Dec. 12.
"I think the thing that's allowing him to have success right now is he's upped his game competitively," Hynes said. "That's what happens when you're a player like him that's got speed and skill and you have some offensive instincts. That consistency and competitiveness has been better, and that's good progress for a good young player."

Pettersson tied it 1-1 at 7:23 on a rebound after Rittich made a save on Vasily Podkolzin's shot. Pettersson has scored 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past eight games.
"When we tied the game, you could see that we wanted this game a lot," Boudreau said. "It meant a lot to us to be able to go [home] with a two-game winning streak where we haven't been in over a month and [we] look forward to being there in a couple of days."

Juho Lammikko scored at 12:19 of the third period for the 3-1 final.
Demko made 10 saves in the third.
"We have a lot of heart," Boudreau said. "We've got a great goaltender, there's no doubt about it. He stopped two or three clean-cut breakaways tonight. He's a wall back there. When you have that back there, it's a little bit of relief when the team isn't doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing."
NOTES: Canucks forward Justin Dowling returned after missing six games in COVID-19 protocol. He did not have a shot on goal in 7:59 of ice time. … The Predators have scored 14 power-play goals in their past 13 games. … Defenseman Jeremy Davies played his first game with Nashville this season after being recalled from the taxi squad. He was minus-2 and had three shots in 12:30.