Oilers Gameday – @ Canucks

Here we are, the final stop. Tonight, the Edmonton Oilers nightmare 2014-15 season finally comes to a close in Vancouver, as the team visits the Canucks in the fifth and final battle between the sides this season. The Canucks have won the previous four games between the teams.

The Oilers will be without F’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Boyd Gordon, while F Curtis Hamilton will be a healthy scratch. D’s Mark Fayne, Nikita Nikitin and Andrew Ference will all be out tonight as well. Meanwhile, the Canucks enter tonight with a healthy roster.

Ben Scrivens starts for Edmonton, while Ryan Miller returns for Vancouver with his first start since February 22nd.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers hosted the Sharks on Thursday in a tilt where San Jose dominated the possession and scoring chance clock. The Sharks fired 19 shots on net in the first period, but rookie Laurent Brossoit was up to the task, stopping all 19.

LB would continue his sensational game with 14 more saves in the second, while Edmonton would finally gain some momentum and get some chances on Antti Niemi. The Oilers would break through at the 12:30 mark, as Nail Yakupov would launch a rocket past Niemi.

The Sharks turned the heat up in the third however, and finally solved LB. Patrick Marleau scored off of a Justin Schultz turnover 10:32 in, while Bryan Lerg would score his first NHL goal on a two-on-one seven minutes later. Matt Nieto would seal the deal with an empty netter, giving the Sharks a 3-1 victory.

Vancouver: The Canucks absolutely manhandled the Coyotes on Thursday night in Vancouver. The Canucks fired ten shots on net in the first period, and carried the play from the opening faceoff against a weak Arizona team. Daniel Sedin opened the scoring 16:22 in, and that was all she wrote.

Ronalds Kenins would make it a two goal game 6:51 into the second, while Yannick Weber would score a pair of goals on the power-play within two minutes of each other to put the game away.

Dan Hamhuis would add a power-play marker in the third, while Eddie Lack would stop 28 shots to cement the Canucks 5-0 victory.

Last Meeting:

These two last met back in November at Rexall Place in a thrilling tilt. The Canucks came out buzzing in the first, and opened the scoring with a Jannik Hansen goal short-handed at the 15:41 mark. The Canucks would extend their lead with a Radim Vrbata power-play marker 2:02 into the middle frame, taking total control.

The Oilers would fight back, as Steve Pinizzotto would beat Ryan Miller with a long shot. The Canucks would take a 3-1 lead thanks to a Chris Higgins goal at the 9:39 mark, but a quick pair of goals thanks to Teddy Purcell and Boyd Gordon would get Edmonton even on the scoresheet.

It didn’t last however, as Radim Vrbata would score on the power-play with just under three minutes left in the second to reclaim the lead for Vancouver. Edmonton dug in big time in the third, and launched an offensive that tied the game thanks to an Andrew Ference blast 6:21 into the frame. The Canucks would pull ahead again in the tug of war however, as Yannick Weber would score 11:32 in to give the Canucks the 5-4 victory.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Finish strong. This is the last stop for Edmonton, and they know it. The Canucks have something to play for, while Edmonton simply does not. That said, if Edmonton wants to have a chance tonight, they need to treat this as playoff game and focus on finishing strong.

Vancouver: Force Edmonton into taking bad penalties. The Canucks’ power-play has simply owned Edmonton this season, and it has been a factor in each and every meeting between the sides this season. If Vancouver can get on the man advantage tonight, they should run over Edmonton.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Easy, G Ben Scrivens. Both Richard Bachman and Laurent Brossoit have outplayed Scrivens recently, which is an awful sign for the man anointed the starter back in October. Scrivens needs to have a good game tonight to show a little something here. Can he do it? I’ll be watching big time.

Vancouver: F Radim Vrbata has owned Edmonton this season, and has been a major factor in each and every meeting prior to this one. He’s a goal scoring forward who feasts on weak defenders. Edmonton has a ton of those, meaning Vrbata could be in for another big night.

Quick Hits:

The Oilers have won each of their last two regular season finales, with both of them coming against the Vancouver Canucks. Edmonton’s last win against Vancouver was the final game of last season, they lost all four meetings back in the fall. Oilers F’s Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle will play for Team Canada at the World Championships in May. F Matt Hendricks returns to the Oilers’ lineup tonight after missing Thursday.

Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Benoit Pouliot – Taylor Hall – Jordan Eberle

Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov

Matt Fraser – Anton Lander – Tyler Pitlick

Luke Gazdic – Matt Hendricks – Rob Klinkhammer

Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – David Musil

Brandon Davidson – Keith Aulie

Ben Scrivens

Vancouver Canucks Lines:

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Alex Burrows

Chris Higgins – Nick Bonino – Radim Vrbata

Sven Baertschi – Linden Vey – Derek Dorsett

Ronalds Kenins – Bo Horvat – Jannik Hansen

Alex Edler – Chris Tanev

Kevin Bieksa – Luca Sbisa

Dan Hamhuis – Yannick Weber

Ryan Miller