Oilers Gameday - @ Vancouver: This Is The End

Tonight is the final game of the 2015-16 season for the Oilers, and they’re in Vancouver to take on the Canucks. Someday the final game of the season will be the difference between making and missing the playoffs (like in 2006), but that is not the situation.

Instead we look ahead to the off-season, and hope for some changes on the blue line that won’t cost one of the best players on the team.

Last Game

The last game at Rexall had the potential to be a real stinker. The first period was boring and it looked like the boys were holding their sticks a little tight. But the second period was one for the ages, which is fitting since there were so many Oilers alumni in the building.

On the whole, the game was pretty good. Patrick Maroon scored twice, both Taylor Hall and Connor McDavid had 3-point nights, Nail Yakupov opened the scoring, and Leon Draisaitl rounded out the scoring. The 6-2 victory was great, especially considering the significance of the night.

Keys to the Game

Play the same way they did Wednesday. That’s it. Vancouver isn’t necessarily a great opponent, but it was a good game and lots of guys were finding the net and it was nice to see them out there having fun. I think that’s what’s been missing a lot of times. Last Saturday’s game wasn’t fun for anyone; Wednesday’s was. I’m not saying they need to go out and not take things seriously, but man it’d be nice if they could go out and play hard and have fun on more nights. Next year, right?

Players to Watch

For the final time this season, I’m going to tell you to watch Taylor Hall. He’s pretty good at hockey. Plus, he’s only one goal away from his career high (and one point shy of 65 on the year).

And he did this on Wednesday:

TAYLOR TIME! ? #VANvsEDM pic.twitter.com/OuEeGMTtfi

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 7, 2016

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Projected Lineups

Edmonton

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Iiro Pakarinen

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle

Lauri Korpikoski – Leon Draisaitl – Nail Yakupov

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne

Darnell Nurse – Adam Pardy

Griffin Reinhart – Jordan Oesterle

Cam Tal-Bot

Vancouver

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Jannik Hansen

Derek Dorsett – Bo Horvat – Emerson Etem

Jared McCann – Markus Granlund – Jake Virtanen

Andrey Pedan – Brendan Gaunce – Alex Burrows

Dan Hamhuis – Chris Tanev

Ben Hutton – Nikita Tryamkin

Matt Bartkowski – Alex Biega

Ryan Miller

Final Thoughts

Wednesday night was an important night in Oil Country, and all eyes were on the Oilers to close the building out in style. Thankfully, it went as planned and fans were left with a great memory of the last-ever home game at Rexall Place. Puck drop was moved from 8pm to 5pm to accommodate a post-game celebration, and while that decision seemed baffling to some, it ultimately made a lot of sense once the spectacle began.

The Oilers do celebrations right, in my opinion. With all the alumni in the building and so many great memories for fans and players alike, it’s fitting that things started off this way:

This one’s for you, Paul. ? #FarewellRexallPlace https://t.co/chBd9XHhKC

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 7, 2016

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsAs I watched (alone in my living room), I was brought to tears, and my emotions ran high all night long. I didn’t think I’d be emotional about the end of hockey at Rexall, but I had tears in my eyes on a number of occasions. I legitimately cried during the last ten seconds of the game, and thought that it was somehow fitting that Leon Draisaitl is now the answer to a trivia question:

Rexall’s final goal courtesy @Drat_29. #FarewellRexallPlace pic.twitter.com/RD3RJqaNmY

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 7, 2016

In any case, it was a heck of a night capped off with a huge victory over the Canucks. I know that it’s small consolation, given the Oilers’ place in the standings, but it was really nice to have the fans in the game for the majority of the night.

It’s been quite a tumultuous time at Rexall Place, and while there are some great memories to be found within the walls, I’m really looking forward to the opening of Rogers Place.