NEXT GAME
TONIGHT
Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks
7 p.m., Rogers Arena, TV: SNETP; Radio: SNET 650 AM
THE BIG MATCHUP
Bo Horvat vs. Connor McDavid
This rivalry goes back to the early part of the decade and the Ontario Hockey League when Horvat was in London and McDavid was in Erie. In a perfect world, the Canucks would mix things up, sending Jay Beagle or Brandon Sutter out for a couple of shifts against McDavid. As it is, both players are injured which means the tough assignment falls to Horvat to contain the best player in the world.
FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. See above
There’s more to the Oilers than McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but they’re also one-two in the league in scoring. “You don’t keep those guys off the scoreboard many nights but you try to contain them,” said Canucks’ coach Travis Green.
And how do you do that?
“It’s definitely not one guy (Horvat) versus two guys,” said Green. “We have to do it by committee.”
Saturday night in Edmonton, Green started the game with Loui Eriksson on a line with Horvat and Tanner Pearson matched against McDavid’s line.
2. The fatigue factor
The Canucks are playing their seventh game in 13 days. It’s also their first game after a six-game roadie that ended in Edmonton on Saturday night. Going into that game, they’d fallen out of a playoff spot for the first time in six weeks. They need a response.
3. The Tip-ping point
The focus on the Oilers is McDavid and Draisaitl but first-year head coach Dave Tippett has instilled structure and order to the team game. The Oil are second in the Pacific in goals allowed, boast the NHL’s best power play and the second-best penalty killing.
“ Tip’s done a great job of giving everyone a role,” said Oilers winger and former Canuck Zack Kassian. “We’re not just a one-line team. Our special teams are elite and our all-around defensive mindset goes way beyond one line.”
4. The top of the marquee
Elias Pettersson likes to measure himself against the league’s best players. This is the second of back-to-back meetings with the Oilers and McDavid. Pettersson entered the weekend 10th in the NHL in scoring. He’s an elite player and he has to play like it every night for the Canucks to have a chance.
5. Reinforcements
Jay Beagle and Brandon Sutter skated in Edmonton on Friday and Saturday and are close to rejoining the team. Green didn’t rule out Sutter playing in tonight’s game although that seems like a stretch.
Still, the Canucks need their veteran presence and defensive consciousness in the lineup. For the Oilers, former Canuck Sam Gagner slides into the second-line centre role for the injured Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
CANUCKS LINEUP
J.T. Miller — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson — Bo Horvat — Loui Eriksson
Josh Leivo — Adam Gaudette — Jake Virtanen
Tim Schaller — Tyler Graovac — Zack MacEwen
Defence pairings
Quinn Hughes — Tyler Myers
Jordie Benn — Chris Tanev
Oscar Fantenberg — Troy Stecher
Goalies : Thatcher Demko, Jacob Markstrom
OILERS LINEUP
Leon Draisaitl — Connor McDavid — Zack Kassian
Alex Chiasson — Sam Gagner — James Neal
Jujhar Khaira — Riley Sheahan — Josh Archibald
Markus Granlund — Gaetan Haas — Patrick Russell
Defence pairings
Darnell Nurse — Ethan Bear
Oscar Klefbom — Caleb Jones
Kris Russell — Adam Larsson
Goalies : Mikko Koskinen, Mike Smith
SICK BAY
Canucks: Antoine Roussel (knee), Brandon Sutter (groin), Jay Beagle (lower body), Micheal Ferland (concussion), Alex Edler (upper body)
Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand)
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power play: Canucks: 26.7% (fourth); Oilers: 32% (tied for first)
Penalty kill: Canucks: 82.2% (15th); Oilers: 87.5% (second)
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