Oilers Vs. Canucks – Game Recap

The Oilers and Canucks met up in a heated pre-season tilt earlier tonight at Rexall Place. The Oilers had a skilled lineup that featured most of their top guns, while Vancouver sent out a team that was lacking the Sedin twins and Radim Vrbata. When these two teams meet up, fireworks are a usual occurrence, and tonight was no different.

The Game:

The Oilers and Canucks played a relatively even first period. Edmonton won the shot battle 9-7, but the scoring chance battle was quite even. The one difference? The Oilers found the back of the net. Teddy Purcell stormed the net and found a way to poke the puck past Eddie Lack at the 18:41 mark. In addition to scoring, Purcell hit goalie Eddie Lack and temporarily hurt Vancouver’s backup.

The second period saw a change of fortunes. The Canucks picked up the pace, both physically and skill wise, and started taking the game over. Cal O’Reilly took down Nikita Nikitin, injuring the big defender who signed on this past June after a trade from the Jackets. The Canucks would tie things up on the ensuing Oiler power-play as Nick Bonino slid a puck right past Viktor Fasth after a massive defensive break down.

The Canucks took the lead after an Alex Edler laser found it’s way over the shoulder of Fasth to put Vancouver up 2-1 at the 14:57 mark of the period. Lack would stop all five shots against him in the second.

The third period saw Edmonton go on the attack early, putting numerous shots on Lack in the first ten minutes with no success. The second half of the period brought more of the same, as Edmonton got numerous chances, including a near connection between Nail Yakupov and Leon Draisaitl. That said, it wasn’t enough, as Lack was perfect in the final frame to cement the Nucks’ 2-1 win.

The Good:

Jesse Joensuu was all over the ice. He was physically engaged, and set up the Teddy Purcell goal in the first period. Joensuu played extremely well tonight, and what is better is that he was set up with skill players like Purcell and Draisaitl. That’s a great sign for Edmonton that he is performing. He’s started to separate himself from the rest of the hopefuls on line four.

Bogdan Yakimov did a good job tonight creating chances. Not only was he able to do that, but he looked solid with his two-way game as well. It was another very solid performance by a guy that is trying to make his mark on this Oiler coaching staff. To my eye, he’s vastly out performed Will Acton and Anton Lander in this camp, and I believe he has pushed himself ahead of Mark Arcobello. Is it enough to make the team? That’s another story.

Darnell Nurse was physically engaged too tonight, and I thought that was a great sign. I think this kid is going to be a stud, it’s a matter of when not if.

The Bad:

Nail Yakupov was very inconsistent tonight. One shift he would look terrific, the next shift he would look totally lost. All in all, Nail has had a good pre-season, but tonight was a bad game. He needs to be better both offensively and defensively. Whether fans like it or not, Nail is going to be a major part of any success this team has this year.

Will Acton had many chances for offense in the game, but failed to convert on any of them. Acton has a chance to make this roster thanks to ineffectiveness from other players, but he really hasn’t stepped up and separated himself. Yes he was physically engaged, but a spot on the scoresheet would have really helped his case.

Injury Notes:

Both Jeff Petry and Andrew Ference again missed the game tonight, and no updates were given on their statuses. David Perron, who was injured on Wednesday night, did an off-ice workout on Thursday, but did not play in the game. He’s thought to be day-to-day currently, and likely will not play again in the pre-season.

Defender Nikita Nikitin went down with an injury in the second period. Nikitin’s knee appeared to buckle along the boards when he was taken down by Canucks forward Cal O’Reilly. There was no update given, but we can expect to hear something soon.

The Road Ahead:

Edmonton completes their pre-season slate on Saturday night in a rematch against the Canucks in Vancouver. Following that, Edmonton will get a few days off before opening their season at home against the Flames on the ninth of October. We’re in the home stretch my friends, and the meaningless exhibition games are almost over.