Vancouver to play Nashville in 1st round of Stanley Cup playoffs

The Vancouver Canucks will face the Nashville Predators in the opening round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The first-round matchup was confirmed on Wednesday night when Nashville clinched the first wild card spot in the Western Conference.

The Canucks clinched the Pacific Division title Tuesday night with a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames and finished the regular season Thursday with a 4-2 loss in Winnipeg.

A schedule for the best-of-seven playoff series against Nashville was announced later Thursday, with the first game taking place at Rogers Arena on Sunday at 7 p.m. PT.

The team last played home playoff games in front of fans at Vancouver's Rogers Arena in 2015, when the club lost to the Flames in the opening round by four games to two.

Theylast made it to the playoffs in 2020, when games were closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

WATCH |Canucks fans turn out forlast home game of regular season:

Canucks fans on last home game before playoffs

5 months ago

Duration 0:43

Canucks fans came out to enjoy the last home game before the playoffs. The NHL has said the first playoff game could be as soon as this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Canucks have signed former first-round draft pick Vasily Podkolzin to a two-year extension.

The 22-year-old Russian winger split the 2023-24 season between the NHL team and its American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Podkolzin was called up to the NHL club in early March and has played a depth role, registering two assists and six penalty minutes in 18 games.

The six-feet-one-inch, 190-pound forward had 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) and 15 penalty minutes in 44 AHL appearances this season.

Selected 10th overall by the Canucks in the 2019 NHL entry draft, Podkolzin has 18 goals, 17 assists and 41 penalty minutes in 136 NHL games.