NASHVILLE (AP) — Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, Daniel Sedin surpassed 1,000 career points and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Thursday night.
Loui Eriksson also scored twice and Sedin had a goal and two assists for Vancouver, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Henrik Sedin added three assists and Anders Nilsson made 29 saves for the win.
Craig Smith had a goal and an assist for Nashville. Filip Forsberg and Nick Bonino also scored for the Predators.
Smith scored the game’s first goal at 2:42 of the second period. From the neutral zone, Matt Irwin banked a pass off the right boards across the Vancouver blue line. Smith skated to the puck and carried in along the right side before cutting toward the net parallel to the goal line. In front, he slipped a backhand between Nilsson’s pads.
Boeser tied it 12 seconds later.
After taking a pass from Bo Horvat above the right circle, the rookie cut to the slot with a nice toe drag before firing a wrist shot high to the stick side of goalie Pekka Rinne.
Forsberg made it 2-1 at 4:31 of the second. With the Predators on a power play, Smith sent a cross-ice pass from the left faceoff dot to Forsberg in the right circle. His wrist shot deflected off the crossbar and in.
Forsberg leads Nashville in goals with 13 and power-play goals with eight.
With three points in the game, Daniel Sedin increased his NHL total to 1,001. Henrik Sedin had the secondary assist on his brother’s milestone goal.
Boeser scored his second of the night at 14:08 of the third.
From the left dot, Nikolay Goldobin slid a pass to Boeser in the slot. He skated toward the net and made a move before beating Rinne low to the glove side.
Eriksson added an empty-netter to seal it.
NOTES: Rinne made 27 saves. … Nashville entered with the league’s best home power play, converting at a 40 per cent rate. The Predators went 1 for 4 with the man advantage. … The Predators are 12-2-2 when leading after two periods. … Henrik Sedin has eight assists in his last six games. … Eriksson has points in three straight games.
UP NEXT
Canucks: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Predators: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
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Jim Diamond, The Associated Press