Oilers Gameday – Vs. Canucks

The Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks tonight at Rexall Place in the second to last pre-season game for the Oil and their final tune up at home. The Oilers will be in the second half of back to back games, while Vancouver has been off since Monday night when they fell to the Coyotes at home. Eddie Lack is expected to start for the Canucks

The Last Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers hosted the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night, and sent out a lineup filled with players looking to make a push for a roster spot at the NHL level. The Oil dominated the first frame, out-shooting the Yotes by a 17-8 margin, and getting the better of the scoring chances. Only problem was the Yotes struck first, as Mikkel Boedker back handed a shot past Ben Scrivens half-way through the frame.

Edmonton tied it late however, as Teddy Purcell found Benoit Pouliot out front with just under two minutes left to play. The Oil opened the scoring in the second with a goal from Jesse Joensuu, who slammed home a centering pass from Steve Pinizzotto just 1:53 in. The Yotes pushed back however, and tied it as Rob Klinkhammer snapped a shot over Scrivens’ shoulder on the penalty kill late in the frame.

Edmonton got ten saves from Scrivens in the third period, and an early goal from Jesse Joensuu off another Pinizzotto feed to put the team up 3-2 and cement the victory by the same count. It was Edmonton’s fourth win of the pre-season, putting them at 4-2-0.

Vancouver: The Nucks’ last game was also against Arizona, but that happened back on Monday in Vancouver. The Canucks opened the scoring thanks to a Derek Dorsett goal 4:43 in, but that would be about all that went right on the night for Vancouver. The Coyotes would push back and dominate the rest of the frame, and tie things up with a Joe Vitale goal at the 12:02 mark.

The Yotes had a monster second period, taking the lead with a Brandon McMillan goal around the half-way mark. They’d pad the lead by getting an insurance marker off a Shane Doan power-play goal late in the period. In the third, Vancouver got within one thanks to a Radim Vrbata marker, but David Moss would close things out with just over a minute left in the contest.

The Yotes got eight Mike Smith saves in the final twenty minutes, and held on for a 4-2 victory.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Last night’s key for Edmonton was to put Leon Draisaitl in a position to succeed. They did that, and he responded with a very solid effort for the Oilers. Tonight, the key is more of the same, keep putting Leon in positions to succeed and show well. He’ll be in the line-up tonight, and will be centering the team’s second line. He should draw lesser competition with Edmonton’s usual top-line in the game.

Put Leon in a spot to succeed and tonight will be a success, regardless if the team wins or not. This kid’s development is a massive part of the future.

Vancouver: The Canucks won’t have Henrik or Daniel Sedin tonight, and will be leaving Radim Vrbata in Vancouver as well. Tonight’s key for the Canucks is to have some secondary scorers step up and make a difference. This was a major problem for the team last season, and needs to be addressed this year if the team wants success. It starts tonight, players need to step up for this team.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Jesse Joensuu has been very impressive in his last two pre-season games, and will get a chance tonight on Edmonton’s second line with Teddy Purcell and Leon Draisaitl. Joensuu is very close to snagging a roster spot with the Oilers, and a strong performance tonight may push him over the edge. He’ll be a player worth watching here, because he very well could be a guy we see a lot of this regular season.

Vancouver: The Canucks need secondary scoring, we mentioned that above. One guy that could provide it? Linden Vey, a former Los Angeles King. Vey is a guy that possesses some skill and hockey smarts, but could never crack the tough LA lineup. He gets a fresh start in Vancouver, and very likely will make the roster. He isn’t going to be a major impact player, but he’s got the ability to be a solid secondary scorer for this club. I’ll be keeping an eye on him tonight.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lineup:

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Nail Yakupov

Jesse Joensuu – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell

Will Acton – Bogdan Yakimov – Tyler Pitlick

Kevin Westgarth – Anton Lander – Steve Pinizzotto

Darnell Nurse – Brad Hunt

Martin Marincin – Keith Aulie

Nikita Nikitin – Mark Fayne

Viktor Fasth

Vancouver Canucks Lineup:

TBA