Country-boy Kes thrives in Nashville Scores twice vs. Preds with Derek Roy as his new wingman BY JASON BOTCHFORD, THE PROVINCE APRIL 16, 2013

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1 Country-boy Kes thrives in Nashville Scores twice vs. Preds with Derek Roy as his new wingman BY JASON BOTCHFORD, THE PROVINCE APRIL 16, 2013 Game over Canucks 5, Derek 2 Forget lining him up with Derek Roy. If the Canucks want to get the most out of Ryan Kesler they need to start pumping more Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton into Rogers Arena. "I'm going to have to start listening to country back home," Kes-ler quipped after scoring two goals and leading the Canucks to another three-goal win that was a lot closer than the 5-2 final suggests. That's six points in four games for Kesler. Just wait till he finds his legs. The Canucks are better with Kesler. A lot better. And, they found out, so is Roy. After spending months in an exhaustive search for a centre, what did the Canucks do? They made Roy a winger in his sixth game. Of course they did. Roy was flipped from thirdline centre to left wing after he let it leak hours before the game he played there six years ago. "I told (Alain Vigneault) I played wing (in the 2007) playoffs and before you know it, I look on the board and I'm on the wing," Roy said. Kesler was thrilled. He dodged the right wing, where Vigneault had mulled putting him. "Obviously, I'm more comfortable playing at centre but if they wanted me to play the wing, I would," Kesler said. It's understandable he'd rather play the position he's played his entire career, the one he was playing when he won a Selke Trophy. He carried the Canucks in the 2011 playoffs against the Predators. He wasn't that player Monday. But you could see him from here. "Things just fall into place for me here," Kesler said. "I like playing here. Must be the country (music).

2 "When you look back and you know you've had success in a building, I think that helps. That fact helps mentally." It all worked well early, and even better late. But that's if you're willing to look past the fact Andrew Ebbett was the Canucks' third-line centre. That's a big ask. Kesler scored first. Roy scored second and then he set Kesler up for the Canucks' fifth goal in the third, bookending a game that went horribly awry in the middle. The Canucks jetted out to 2-0 lead five minutes in, and then went to the hotel lobby and checked out. They watched the Roberto Luongo show as the injury-ravaged Predators, who were missing six regulars, pelted the Canucks starter with 19 second-period shots. It wasn't until the Predators tied it 2-2, on a wicked Bobby Butler wrister 11: 40 into the second, when the Sedins took over. Really, this is what the Canucks envisioned when they put Roy and Kesler together. They dreamed of two dangerous lines that could gut-punch opponents and take a game over at any point when they felt like it. The Sedins and Alex Burrows sure felt like it after the game was tied. They strung together two dominating shifts. On the second, Burrows and Hal Gill went at it behind the net for nearly a minute. They each took a series of shots at each other and any number of them could have been called for a penalty. But it was Gill who got the two minutes for taking one too many after the whistle. Six seconds later Jason Garrison slammed a slapshot into the net for his seventh goal of the year. "That was huge for us, especially with the way Lu was playing," Burrows said. The next time someone suggests the Sedins should play with anyone but Burrows, show them that shift. Burrows' tenacity freed up all kinds of room from the Sedins to make plays all over the ice. Burrows later tipped in a Daniel Sedin slapshot to put the Canucks up 4-2 before Roy found Kesler for the backdoor play to make it 5-2. "He's crafty and a really good playmaker," Kesler said of Roy. "It's always fun when you play with a playmaker. You seem to get more opportunities." Vigneault, however, was lukewarm in assessing the duo he created. "Ehh, it was all right," Vigneault said. "It had some good moments. We lost Derek there for quite some time. But he was able to come back and he showed good offensive abilities. We'll follow it up and see what we do in St. Louis."

3 It was a nice bounce-back game for Roy who thought he lost some teeth after taking a stick to the mouth and nose area in the second period. He left but returned in the third. Roy had been criticized for not producing during the games he played with Dale Weise. Go figure. "No one ever put pressure on me, but I talked to AV and he told me I was going to play a bigger role," Roy said. "That's what I thrive on. That's what I've been playing my whole career. "I've always been the go-to guy, whether it's the shootout or it's overtime. Everything." What about playing wing? "Everyone puts their egos aside and I'll do whatever it takes, whether that's a stick to the nose, or it's playing wing," Roy said. Copyright (c) The Province Luongo show may be his last Goalie keeps Canucks in game during awful second period BY JASON BOTCHFORD, THE PROVINCE APRIL 16, 2013 If all goes right for the Vancouver Canucks, Roberto Luongo just played his last game for them. But when does everything go right for this team? You just know Monday won't be the last you'll see of Luongo, even if there are only six games left and none are back-to-backs. Cory Schneider could conceivably run the table. But the general rule in Vancouver is always this: If the goalie situation can be turned into a circus, it will be every time. The circus in Nashville was around the crease, not in it. The Canucks defence followed up a turnover festival in Denver by doing much of the same against the Predators in the heart of Monday's 5-2 win. The joke after Saturday's Avalanche game was that if you're playing against the Canucks, just head to the net and one of their defenceman will pass you the puck. The joke became a cruel reality again Monday when Keith Ballard set up Preds' David Legwand in the first period. With Legwand staring Ballard down, it was like the defenceman just out-thought himself. It was as though he stood there frozen, considered all of his options until the only one left was to just pass it to the Nashville forward. "I think the puck rolled off (Ballard's) stick," Luongo said. "(Leg-wand) ended up all alone and I saw him take the puck to his backhand so I slid across to take away as much net as possible."

4 Luongo bailed Ballard out with a good save. He made more than a dozen more among his 36 stops. If that was Luongo's last game as a Canuck, at least he left with a huge grin on his face. "That's when I feel at my best," Luongo said of the 38 shots he faced. "Obviously, it depends on the quality of shots." Good point. The injury-ravaged Predators don't have nearly the skill teams like Chicago and L.A. have. In fact, Nashville doesn't have the skill it had last year or even last month. The Predators were without six regulars Monday, which should make the way they dominated the Canucks in the second period alarming. That's three games in a row where one of the worst teams in the league has controlled the flow and puck possession for excruciatingly long stretches. The Canucks won two of those games, both thanks to Luongo. During one section of the second period, the Canucks were getting outshot When the middle frame was over, Vancouver had been outshot Vancouver struggled all night to contain rookie Filip Forsberg, who was playing just the second game of his career. He danced around Ryan Kesler, Dan Hamhuis and Andrew Alberts at different parts of the game. He had four shots on net, missed another and had a sixth shot blocked. He nearly scored when he ripped one off of Luongo's shoulder and nearly set up two other goals. "He's got some skill, he's going to be a very good player for these guys for many years," Luongo said. "I'm sure they're happy with their acquisition." It sure looks like a steal. The Predators dumped Martin Erat, who wanted out of town, and if Monday's game is any indication, got back one of the more electric prospects in hockey. Oh, and he is just 18 years old. At least the Canucks power play is going now. With two goals, it now has five in six games. Luongo said he's not thinking about what's next. "I just try to be ready," Luongo said. "I can't predict the future. There's no point in worrying about that stuff. "You never know. Things happen in hockey." twitter.com/@botchford Copyright (c) The Province Burr gets best of bear in turning point Gill's second-period penalty leads to Canucks' game-winning power-play goal BY IAIN MACINTYRE, VANCOUVER SUN COLUMNIST APRIL 16, 2013 It looked like a camper fighting a grizzly bear and the camper won.

5 On the shift that decided Monday's game, nobody scored. But the Vancouver Canucks finally moved the game to the Nashville Predators' end late in the second period, when Daniel and Henrik Sedin buzzed the net and linemate Alex Burrows battled huge defenceman Hal Gill. The bear was penalized for mauling the camper, and the Canucks parlayed the ensuing power play into the winning goal in a 5-2 victory. "I could have had (a penalty) there, too," Burrows said. "I gave him a few good whacks behind the legs and it could have gone either way. But once the whistle blew, he gave me that extra shot. The ref said: 'You gave it to him the entire shift and that's why I've got to call the last one.' It's part of the game." It was a key part of the game. Gill was furious that he was assessed the only penalty after an exchange that circled the Nashville net and at one point had Burrows slash the Predator across the back of the leg when he threatened to feed on one of the Sedins, who had fallen at Gill's feet. But Gill's cuff after the whistle was obvious, even to referee Dan O'Halloran. "To be honest with you, I just kind of pushed him," Gill said. "He was in front of the net, the puck went there and I pushed him down. I'm not too happy with that call. I don't mind him slashing me and hacking me and spearing me; I can handle that as long as I'm allowed to push back and to make a one-sided call like that, I wasn't too happy." The shift, the penalty and the power-play goal by Jason Garrison that followed changed the game. COACHES COACH: Alain Vigneault reserves the right to make changes, even if the Canuck coach abandoned plans to play Ryan Kesler on right wing and instead deployed the key centre Monday between Derek Roy and Jannik Hansen on a remade second line. On Sunday, Roy practised at centre between Burrows and Kesler, who hasn't played on the wing in four years. For Monday's game, Burrows was reunited with first-liners Henrik and Daniel Sedin against the Predators. "We're fighting first of all to get in (the playoffs)," Vigneault said before the game when asked about experimenting. "That's our goal right now - to get that check mark. "There is, every game, a player who plays better than what you expected, a player who's not giving you what you expected. You've got some adjustments to make and you make them in the best interests of the team." ONE MORE TIME: With the Canucks in the stretch run of their schedule and starter Cory Schneider in superb form, it's possible Roberto Luongo's start in goal against the Predators was his last of the season. If so, Luongo left the crease happy. He was outstanding in the win, making 36 saves and helping keep his team afloat in the second period. "What's that saying? You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone," Luongo, who averaged 64 games per season the last six years as a Canuck, said.

6 "It's exciting to play. Whatever the situation, you want to contribute. But obviously being on the ice is much different than being on the bench. "I haven't looked at the schedule at all to be honest with you. I stopped guessing a long time ago (about when I might play), so you just have to go with it. I'm not even sure the coaching staff knows how they want to play it out. But for me, I'm just trying to be ready for every game." imacintyre@vancouversun.com Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun Sugar-coating sour notes in Music City win Vancouver again wobbles against non-contender, but insists the many miscues are so yesterday BY IAIN MACINTYRE, VANCOUVER SUN APRIL 16, 2013 GAME OVER " CANUCKS 5, PREDATORS 2 Asked about his team's reckless, brainless moments in a second straight game, coach Alain Vigneault said the Vancouver Canucks have turned the page from Saturday. It didn't look like it on Monday. The Nashville Predators, minus most of their top forwards and headed to a golf course near you in two weeks, overwhelmed the Canucks in the second period here the way the last-in-conference Colorado Avalanche collapsed the Canucks in the third period in Denver. The difference Monday is the Canucks' wobbled but didn't topple, blowing a two-goal lead against the Predators before recovering their equilibrium and cognitive skills to muster a 5-2 win that nudged Vancouver closer to its fifth straight Northwest Division title and a home-ice start to the National Hockey League playoffs in two weeks. That resiliency has become as much a trademark of the Canucks as their hard work and twin-driven attack. Resiliency is good. The Vancouver power play's two goals, which equalled the unit's productivity over a 20- game span in the middle of the season, was also encouraging. So was the decent debut of a newly created second line that features Derek Roy on Ryan Kesler's wing. And longsuffering Roberto Luongo, more popular as a forlorn backup than he ever was as an entitled starter, made 36 saves Monday in what may turn out to be his final appearance for the Canucks. These are all good things. But if the Canucks can implode for periods at a time when pressured by weak teams like the Avalanche and Predators, what happens when they get to the playoffs and must face the Los Angeles Kings or San Jose Sharks or St. Louis Blues? "The game would be over," Canuck captain Henrik Sedin said. "Those teams are going to score on you. I would have loved to play against us in the second period today - 3-on2s, 2-on-1s. Their defence-men don't have to do anything, never have to go back for the puck.

7 "We made the same mistakes. We turn pucks over, so our defencemen can't get their gap (against opposing forwards) and they get a lot of 3-on-2s. It was the same thing in the third period in Denver." And having fully debriefed after the 4-3 loss to the Avalanche and practised on Sunday, and discussed at length before Monday's game the need to take care of the puck and keep the opposition from encamping in the Vancouver zone, is a repeat of Saturday's mistakes on Monday cause for alarm with the playoffs on the horizon? "I think it's something we have to address for sure," Sedin said. "But it should be an easy fix. It's not like it's a systems problem or we're not competing or we don't have the players. It's focus." Well, it's not like the 48-game season is so long that the mind should wander. "I wouldn't say it's cause for alarm," Luongo said. "But obviously we've got to be aware what's going on out there. Come playoff time, I don't think periods like that are going to cut it to win a game, let alone a series. We're all aware of it in the locker-room and we want to address it as quickly as possible and correct it." They addressed it again after the second period, when the Canucks were outshot by a team that had lost six straight games, blew a 2-0 advantage then recaptured the lead on a power play created by an epic shift by Alex Burrows and Henrik and Daniel Sedin. The Canucks were a different team in the third, moving the puck out of their end and through the neutral zone, forcing the Predators to play some shifts in their zone, and getting insurance goals from Burrows and Kesler. Kesler also scored on a power play in the first period, when Roy counted his first goal as a Canuck in the sixth game since his trade from Dallas. Up 2-0 against the Predators, ravaged by injury and playing on pride, should have been all the Canucks needed. But they unravelled in the second period, surrendering markers to Nick Spaling and Bobby Butler, whose combined career total of NHL goals is 45. "The game in Denver, we've turned the page on that," Vigneault said. "We've moved on. For whatever reason, our play wasn't what it should be in the second. But I thought Hank's line responded real well. They had that shift that enabled us to go on the power play and score what ended up being the winning goal." The Sedins played catch with the puck and were stopped twice by Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne on a marathon shift that ended with Predator defence-man Hall Gill cuffing Burrows to the ice after a prolonged battle behind, beside and in front of the net. Six seconds later, after a faceoff win by Andrew Ebbett, Jason Garrison's comet from the blue-line at 17: 02 restored the lead and the flow of oxygen to the brain of Canuck players and a couple of million of their fans back home.

8 Breathe deeply. The Canucks play the Blues Tuesday in St. Louis. Kesler scores twice and Luongo makes 36 saves in Canucks win over Preds NASHVILLE The Associated Press Published Monday, Apr , 10:55 PM EDT Last updated Tuesday, Apr , 12:14 AM EDT Ryan Kesler and Roberto Luongo helped knock the Nashville Predators out of the playoff race. Kesler scored two goals and Luongo made 36 saves to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Predators on Monday. Derek Roy, Jason Garrison, and Alex Burrows also scored for Vancouver, which has won five of its past six. Nick Spaling and Bobby Butler scored for the Predators, who have lost a franchise-high seven consecutive games. They have won just once in their past 11 games. Monday s loss eliminated the Predators from post-season contention. Nashville had qualified for the playoffs in seven of the past eight seasons. We still have to play hard, Nashville captain Shea Weber said. It s obviously tough. We have to find a way to battle here in the last games and try to get some wins. Prior to the singing of the national anthems, a moment of silence was observed in remembrance of the victims of Monday s bombings at the Boston Marathon. Kesler gave the Canucks a quick lead at 1:34 of the opening period. With the Canucks on a power play, Henrik Sedin slid a pass from the top of the left circle to Kesler in the high slot. From there, Kesler beat Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne to the stick side with a wrist shot through traffic. I just shot through a screen there, Kesler said. Great play by Hank and Danny to get me the puck and I found the back of the net. Roy made it 2-0 for Vancouver lead three minutes later. Former Predators defenceman Dan Hamhuis shot from the high slot was kicked aside by Rinne, but Roy was able to dive and backhand the puck by Rinne just inside the right post. The assist extended Hamhuis point-scoring streak to six games, a career high for the defenceman Nashville selected with the 12th pick in the 2001 draft. Spaling cut the Predators deficit to 2-1 at 1:34 of the second. Sergei Kostitsyn had the puck behind the Vancouver net. His centring pass found Spaling alone in front, where he one-timed the puck by Luongo for his eighth goal of the season. Butler tied the game at 2 at 11:40 of the second. Carrying the puck down the right side, Butler cut toward the faceoff circle where he fired a wrist shot by Luongo on the far side. We got off to a slow start and dug ourselves a hole and we found a way to fight back, Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. In the second period we responded really well, and you could see right to the end.

9 Vancouver regained the lead on Garrison s power-play goal at 17:02 of the second. We were good in the first, and then for whatever reason, our play slipped in the second until Henrik s line went out there and had a real strong shift, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. That enabled us to go on the power play and score a goal. Burrows gave Vancouver a 4-2 lead 50 seconds into the third when he redirected Daniel Sedin s shot by Rinne. We have done that before when we were high and really don t have a great shot on net, Burrows said. We were trying to get a wrist shot for a tip and I was able to get a stick on it and luckily it went in. Kesler scored his second of the game at 15:53 of the third with a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot. Notes: Nashville D Kevin Klein missed his first game of the season with what Predators coach Barry Trotz called a below the neck injury at the morning skate. Mattias Ekholm, who played his first game with the Predators this season, replaced him in the lineup.... The Predators are when trailing after the first period this season.... The Canucks Gallagher Hat Trick: If Kesler s wrist shot continues to shine, perhaps the scrubs the surgeon used when operating on the beloved appendage might have to be raised to the rafters next season April 16, :38 am Section: The White Towel The Vancouver Canucks have been squeezing the Charmin with respect to their NHL opponents lately. Sampling only the softest of the soft and in our morning Hat Trick, we look ahead to some of the issues facing this team as they begin to take on the real teams in the Western Conference. 1. It s been great fun watching the Canucks score all these goals lately, even when they are so bad in their own zone that they manage to lose to Colorado for the first time in 20 games, as they did on Saturday. And when you consider the long and anguished history of this franchise 15 straight years below.500 in the 1970s and 80s, back when.500 actually meant something you have to concede that this fun shouldn t be taken lightly by the long-suffering Vancouver fan. Surely it s nice to cuff a few teams around when you watch as a fan, after being on the receiving end of those backhanders for years. But remember, with respect to how this team might do in the playoffs, there has been absolutely nothing to learn and very little having been gained other than the points, which look like they will win them the division and get them a home start in the first round, whatever value that has these days when road teams do so well in the post-season. It s easy to get excited when you see the power play looking better, Ryan Kesler scoring, Alex Burrows involved emotionally and the Sedins again looking as though they share a mega brain. But that s not real. If and when they do that to the Blues, Detroit, the Hawks and Ducks, you will then be issued official permission to begin jumping about, when indoors, and honking your car horn with the flags waving, when driving. Until then, it s just good old-fashioned fun. 2. It seems to have been missing longer than Halley s Comet but isn t it nice to see the return of Kesler s wrist shot. Not sure who did the surgery on his wrist this long off-season, but if the Canucks do something in the playoffs and No. 17 is a big part, perhaps the scrubs the surgeon used when operating on the beloved appendage might have to be raised to the rafters next season. Because many of us thought that wrist rocket was gone forever. And if Kesler s wheels are back, as they clearly seem to be, and the wrist shot is back, and the man has always been competitive, perhaps that s a pretty good indication that the really good Ryan Kesler might be able to play in the playoffs, touch wood 100 times. Granted, he could get hurt taking a run at Barret Jackman tonight, when the Blues defenceman is 60 feet behind the play, such is Kesler s risk-taking. And every Canucks fan holds his breath every time the guy is on the ice, just as every Habs fan once did when Benoit Brunet made his rare appearances between injuries throughout the 1990s. But maybe, just maybe, the puck Gods might smile on this team and allow the guy to get through the playoffs healthy. Granted, that s asking for the moon, stars and galaxies, but if ever there was a team due for a break it s the Cubs. Sorry, the Canucks. 3. When you have more giveaways than Santa in losing to Colorado, surrender 38 shots to the Nashville Predators AHL team playing in their uniforms and in their rink, and 41 shots at home to the Calgary Flames, you have some issues in your own end in the absence of Chris Tanev. The Canucks can talk about lack of concentration all they like but let s be clear here, it s a fire drill in their own zone with one of the two right-handed shots on their back end out, as Tanev is now. It was almost the same when Kevin Bieksa

10 missed those seven games earlier this season and, no matter how much they downplay the issue of how particular players shoot the puck, it seems to matter with this team. The question is, if Frank Corrado does well in Chicago, let s say very well, would they insert him as a possible sixth D in the playoffs if one of their right-handers goes down? It s unlikely, we ll admit. Nobody likes to use young defencemen in those situations and coach Alain Vigneault would rather bathe in hot sulfuric acid than use a young player in a crucial situation at any time, much less on D in the playoffs. So maybe we re totally nuts here. It s just that it s been so ridiculously bad even against these brutal teams that they may have to actually step out of their comfort zone for once, and gamble. Naw, forget it, wrong team. Roberto Luongo steps up, helps keep Canucks atop Northwest By BUCKY DENT, The Sports Xchange NASHVILLE - Once considered the Vancouver Canucks' cornerstone, Roberto Luongo has gone from franchise goalkeeper to a backup that the team tried and failed to trade earlier this month because of his long, cap-constricting contract. But Luongo can still help a team win hockey games, as he did Monday night when Vancouver spent much of the second period snoozing against an injury-riddled Nashville team loaded with minor-league call-ups. Making 17 of his 36 saves in the middle 20 minutes, Luongo kept the Canucks from falling behind and they eventually got righted to hand the Predators their seventh straight loss, a 5-2 decision at Bridgestone Arena. Ryan Kesler scored twice for Vancouver ( ), which stayed atop the Northwest Division and climbed into sole possession of third place in the Western Conference. Derek Roy, Jason Garrison and Alexandre Burrows also lit the lamp for the Canucks. However, it was Luongo who saved Vancouver from what might have been a second straight loss to a nonplayoff team. After a 4-3 overtime defeat in Colorado Saturday, the Canucks established a 2-0 lead and then floundered for most of the second period. "Lu made some big saves for us to be up by one after the second," Burrows said. "We turned the puck over way too many times and they came at us with speed. If it hadn't been for him, we would have been down by one." It was the fourth straight win for Luongo, who's as the backup to Cory Schneider. No Vancouver goalie has won more games (233) or compiled more shutouts (35), but it's unlikely he'll play a minute of the Stanley Cup playoffs unless Schneider is injured or fails. However, Luongo is taking his new role as understudy in stride. "I just try to be ready," he said. "You never know what's going to happen. The worst thing you can do is not be ready." While the Canucks skated another stride closer to a division title, Nashville ( ) was officially eliminated from the playoffs. The Predators, who haven't won since a 3-1 decision April 2 against Colorado, iced a lineup minus nine skaters from their season opener. They looked lost in the game's first 4:34, yielding a power-play marker to Kesler at 1:34 and then a rebound goal to Roy exactly three minutes later, his first since being acquired from Dallas on April 2.

11 But Nashville roared to life in the second period, peppering Luongo with 19 shots and tying the game. Nick Spaling notched his eighth goal of the year off Sergei Kostitsyn's pass at 1:34, followed by Bobby Butler's third on a wrister from the right side at 11:40. However, Garrison untied it at 17:04 with a slap shot from the blue line, six seconds after Hal Gill was sent off for roughing. Vancouver iced it in the third with Burrows' deflection of a Daniel Sedin pass that upped the margin to 4-2 and Kesler's second goal of the night at 15:53. "I thought the guys played good percentage hockey in the third period," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "We got off to a good start, but for some reason, we didn't play well in the second period. But we were able to win the game and that's the important thing." Meanwhile, the Predators will sit out the postseason for just the second time in nine years and could end up with a top-five first-round pick if they keep losing. "I don't think anyone's happy with what is going on this year," Gill said. "Right now, it's just a tough pill to swallow. You want to go out and give everything you've got every night and to play for nothing is tough." Notes: Before the game, a moment of silence was observed for the victims of the explosions in Boston, which killed two and injured more than Nashville called up defenceman Mattias Ekholm from Milwaukee of the AHL to replace Kevin Klein, who suffered an upper-body injury in Sunday night's 3-0 loss to Detroit.... Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin played in his 622nd straight game, the second-longest current streak in the NHL behind St. Louis defenceman Jay Bouwmeester.... The Predators have now lost more than 100 man-games to injury or illness this year, many coming in the last month. Kesler scores two as Canucks beat Predators ASSOCIATED PRESS APRIL 15, 2013, 10:56 PM NASHVILLE Ryan Kesler scored two goals and Roberto Luongo made 36 saves to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday. Derek Roy, Jason Garrison, and Alex Burrows also scored for Vancouver, which has won five of its past six. Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Jannik Hansen each had a pair of assists. Nick Spaling and Bobby Butler scored for the Predators, who have lost a franchise-high seven consecutive games. They have won just once in their past 11 games. Monday s loss eliminated the Predators from post-season contention. Nashville had qualified for the playoffs in seven of the past eight seasons. Prior to the singing of the national anthems, a moment of silence was observed in remembrance of the victims of Monday s bombings at the Boston Marathon. Kesler gave the Canucks a quick lead at 1:34 of the opening period.

12 With the Canucks on a power play, Henrik Sedin slid a pass from the top of the left circle to Kesler in the high slot. From there, Kesler beat Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne to the stick side with a wrist shot through traffic. Roy made it 2-0 for Vancouver lead three minutes later. Former Predators defenceman Dan Hamhuis shot from the high slot was kicked aside by Rinne, but Roy was able to dive and backhand the puck by Rinne just inside the right post. The assist extended Hamhuis point-scoring streak to six games, a career high for the defenceman Nashville selected with the 12th pick in the 2001 draft. Spaling cut the Predators deficit to 2-1 at 1:34 of the second. Sergei Kostitsyn had the puck behind the Vancouver net. His centring pass found Spaling alone in front, where he one-timed the puck by Luongo for his eighth goal of the season. Butler tied the game at 2 at 11:40 of the second. Carrying the puck down the right side, Butler cut toward the faceoff circle where he fired a wrist shot by Luongo on the far side. Vancouver regained the lead on Garrison s power-play goal at 17:02 of the second. Burrows gave Vancouver a 4-2 lead 50 seconds into the third when he redirected Daniel Sedin s shot by Rinne. Kesler scored his second of the game at 15:53 of the third with a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot. Notes: Nashville D Kevin Klein missed his first game of the season with what Predators coach Barry Trotz called a "below the neck injury" at the morning skate. Mattias Ekholm, who played his first game with the Predators this season, replaced him in the lineup. The Predators are when trailing after the first period this season. The Canucks have not allowed a powerplay goal in their past six games.