Canucks know the Preds in the NHL playoffs not who they swept during season

Vancouver swept its three-game season series against Nashville. That doesn't count for very much going into their playoff matchup.

The Canucks know all too well the NHL playoffs means a clean slate, especially with how well the Predators finished the regular season.

“They were a pretty hot team here down the stretch, so they’re feeling probably a lot better than the times we played them during the season,” Canucks center Dakota Johnson said. "And it should be a great series.”

Vancouver last played Nashville on Dec. 19. The Predators didn't really click until management canceled a planned U2 concert in mid-February, sparking a franchise-record point streak that propelled the team to the top Western Conference wild card.

“We’ve definitely found an identity, found some confidence," Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonagh said.

This is Nashville's ninth playoff berth in the past 10 seasons and 16th in 20. The Predators haven't won a series since 2018 after winning the Presidents' Trophy.

Vancouver's last series victory came in the Edmonton bubble in 2020. Before that, the Canucks last won a series in 2011 when they reached the Stanley Cup Final, beating Nashville in six games in the Western semifinals.

This best-of-seven series begins Sunday night in Vancouver, with the Canucks favored by BetMGM.

THE COACHES

Rick Tocchet guided the Canucks to the Pacific Division title and third in the West with 109 points in his first full season. This is only the second playoff berth in nine seasons for the Canucks, making Tocchet a top candidate for the Jack Adams coach of the year award.

Andrew Brunette took over Nashville last summer and helped the Predators shake off a slow start to finish the season with 20 wins and 43 points since Feb. 17 — second in the NHL in that span.

“I don’t think they’re overly worried about us," Brunette said of the Canucks. "We’re just going to do what we do, and it’s a great place to play. We’re excited to be here. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

NORRIS SHOWDOWN

This series features two likely finalists for the Norris Trophy in Quinn Hughes of the Canucks and Predators captain Roman Josi. Hughes led all defensemen with 92 points, while Josi led defensemen with 23 goals and ranked third in that group with 85 points.

This is Quinn's second postseason. Josi has played 85 playoff games, and the 2020 Norris winner has led all defensemen since the start of this year with 56 points in 45 games.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

Juuse Saros missed the Predators' last playoff appearance when they were swept by Colorado in 2022 with an ankle injury. The man who replaced fellow Finn Pekka Rinne in Nashville's net is looking for the first playoff series victory of his career.

Saros started the season slowly. The 2022 Vezina Trophy finalist who finished fourth in voting for that award last year started a league-high 64 games and led the NHL with 1,672 saves. He won nine of his last 14 starts, giving up an average of 2.92 goals with a .904 save percentage.

Thatcher Demko has started three of his four career playoff games, but he went 35-15-2 in 51 games this season. The Canucks goalie returned Tuesday from a knee injury suffered March 7.

SCORING MACHINES

Filip Forsberg led Nashville with a career-high 94 points, and he also set a franchise-record with 48 goals. He played all 82 games for the first time since the 2016-17 season when the Predators reached the franchise's first Stanley Cup Final. Forsberg has been at his best since Feb. 17, recording 41 points to finish the season.

Center J.T. Miller led Vancouver with 103 points and was second to teammate Elias Pettersson (10) with nine game-winning goals.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

A young fan holds a sign as Vancouver Canucks' J.T. Miller skates past before during the second period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg, center, celebrates his third goal of the game during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Friday, April 12, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Vancouver Canucks' Elias Lindholm (23), Conor Garland (8) and Quinn Hughes (43) celebrate Lindholm's goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

FILE - Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette, center, gives instruction to his players during a timeout in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Vancouver won 3-2. Of the 16 teams entering the NHL playoffs this weekend, seven feature coaches who are in their first full year or hired as midseason replacements.(AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

FILE - Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, top, talks to players during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. The Canucks won 4-3. In completing his first full season behind the Canucks bench, Tocchet is not alone among his coaching contemporaries in providing their respective teams a spark. Of the 16 teams entering the NHL playoffs this weekend, seven feature coaches who are in their first full year or hired as midseason replacements.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Nashville Predators' Roman Josi (59) is congratulated after scoring a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Vancouver Canucks' Elias Lindholm (23), Noah Juulsen (47), Dakota Joshua (81) and Conor Garland (8) celebrate Garland's goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Ilya Mikheyev, left, and goalie Thatcher Demko celebrate the team's win over the Calgary Flames in an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian police said they arrested three suspects Friday in the slaying of a Sikh separatist leader last June that become the center of a diplomatic spat with India, and are investigating possible ties between the detainees and the Indian government.

Three Indian nationals in their 20s identified as Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar and Karampreet Singh were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta on Friday morning in the slaying of 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar by masked gunmen outside Vancouver, police said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic feud with India in September when he said that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the slaying of Nijjar.

India had accused Nijjar of links to terrorism, but angrily denied involvement in the slaying. In response to the allegatio ns, India told Canada last year to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country. Tensions remain but have somewhat eased since.

The three suspects had been living in Canada as non-permanent residents, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said Friday at a news conference in Toronto.

“We are investigating whether there are any ties to the government of India," Mooker said, adding that it was an “ongoing investigation.”

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner David Teboul said Canadian authorities are speaking to counterparts in India. “I would characterize that collaboration as rather challenging," he said. “It’s been very difficult.”

The three men were expected to be transported to British Columbia by Monday to face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Nijjar, an Indian-born citizen of Canada, was a plumber and also a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. But he had denied allegations of ties to terrorism.

A bloody decadelong Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.

The Khalistan movement has lost much of its political power but still has supporters in the Indian state of Punjab, as well as in the sizable overseas Sikh diaspora. While the active insurgency ended years ago, the Indian government has warned repeatedly that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.

Media ask questions to Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, centre, Commander of the Federal Policing Program in the Pacific Region, during a news conference for an update on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation from June 18, 2023, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Media ask questions to Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, centre, Commander of the Federal Policing Program in the Pacific Region, along with Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards, left, Officer-in-Charge of Surrey RCMP Detachment, and Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, second from the right, Officer-in-Charge of IHIT during a news conference for an update on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation from June 18, 2023, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards, Officer-in-Charge of Surrey RCMP Detachment waits to speak during a news conference for an update on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation from June 18, 2023, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, right, Officer-in-Charge of IHIT speaks to media with Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, centre, during a news conference for an update on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation from June 18, 2023, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, Officer-in-Charge of IHIT listens to questions from media during a news conference for an update on the Hardeep Singh Nijjar homicide investigation from June 18, 2023, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, May 3, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

FILE - A banner that shows the late Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is displayed outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, Sept. 18, 2023, where he was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot. Canadian police said Friday, May 3, 2024, that they have made three arrests in the June slaying. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File)