Oilers @ Canucks: The Hunt for One Hundred

Only two regular season games remain for the Oilers as they get set to face the Canucks tonight in Vancouver, and again tomorrow in Edmonton.

The Canucks have been near the bottom of the barrel in the NHL this year, sitting at 29th in the league above only the lowly Colorado Avalanche. Vancouver has the second worst offence in the league with 178 goals heading into tonight, again only beating out the Avs.

With a playoff spot guaranteed and home ice looking very likely, the Oilers are just one point away from breaking 100 for the first time since 1986-87, when they hit 106 points in an 80 game season. Phenom Connor McDavid needs just three points to hit the century mark, which would make him the first Oiler to do so since Doug Weight scored 104 in 1995-96.

Projected Lineups

Edmonton

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Benoit Pouliot – David Desharnais – Zack Kassian

Drake Caggiula – Mark Letestu – Iiro Pakarinen

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Darnell Nurse – Matt Benning

Starting Goalie: Cam Talbot

Vancouver

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Nikolay Goldobin

Reid Boucher – Bo Horvat – Brock Boeser

Michael Chaput – Brandon Sutter – Jayson Megna

Griffen Molino – Drew Shore – Alex Biega

Alexander Edler – Troy Stecher

Luca Sbisa – Chris Tanev

Ben Hutton – Nikita Tryamkin

Starting Goalie: Ryan Miller

Keys to the Game

Start strong. The Oilers let San Jose jump to an early lead on Thursday, and although they managed to fight back, it’ll be important to grab control from the beginning.

Watch out for the college kid. Brock Boeser of the Canucks has three goals and an assist in his first seven NHL games. The Oilers will have to watch out for his dangerous shot, as his nose for the net and quick release have brought a breath of fresh air to Vancouver’s offence.

Players to Watch

Connor McDavid. All eyes will be on the electrifying McDavid as he pushes to enhance his stranglehold on the Art Ross Trophy and reach 100 points.

Milan Lucic. The hulking winger is red hot with 11 goals in his last 18 games, including a hat trick on Thursday against the Sharks. Look for him to make a physical statement in his home town.

Oscar Klefbom. Klef had a big game against the Sharks with four assists. He’s a hell of a player and one of my personal favourites, especially when he lugs the puck up the ice with authority.

Jockeying for Position

As far as I can tell, the only scenario in which Edmonton loses home ice advantage is if the Sharks win their final game in regulation and the Oilers lose both of the Vancouver games in regulation. The Oilers can technically still win the Pacific Division if Anaheim loses their final game in regulation and Edmonton wins both games against the Canucks in regulation or overtime.

My hope is that McDavid gets his three points tonight and then takes the night off tomorrow to rest up for the first round.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the game!

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