Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers - Wednesday November 19 - 5:00 p.m. - Sportsnet, TEAM1040
Vancouver Canucks 12-6-0 third in Pacific Division
Edmonton Oilers 6-10-2 seventh in Pacific Division
After four days off, the Vancouver Canucks get back to work on Wednesday when they travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers for the first game in a pair of back-to-backs.
Because the game is a national broadcast on Sportsnet, note the early start time: the action will kick off at 5:00, not the usual 6:00 start we normally see for Alberta games.
Not yet at the quarter pole of the 2014-15 season, Wednesday's contest will mark the fourth regular-season meeting of the year between the Canucks and Oilers, who also faced off twice in preseason. Vancouver has run the table so far, with a 5-4 shootout win, a 2-0 shutout in Edmonton and a 3-2 road win earlier this month. After tonight, the teams won't see each other until the final game of the season on April 11.
The Oilers should be campaigning to be the next team to be realigned to the Eastern Conference. Edmonton's 6-2-1 against teams from the East, but still hasn't beaten a single team from the Western Conference this season. They're 0-8-1, with that "1" being the shootout loss to the Canucks.
After getting burned by the Arizona Coyotes last Friday, the Canucks need to make sure they don't take their opponent for granted tonight. Sam Gagner may be gone, but the Oilers are still carrying a grudge against Zack Kassian, who returns to the lineup just in time to renew acquaintances with his old foes.
When the Canucks and Oilers played on November 1, Edmonton captain threw a headshot at Kassian that got him suspended for three games. As
Ben Kuzma described in yesterday's
Province, "Kassian was more upset that Ference didn’t fight than the actual hit. And Ference thought he delivered a good body check and was surprised he was penalized."
Also from Kuzma, it's becoming clear that Willie Desjardins' version of player criticism is calling somebody "pretty good." Here's what he had to say about Linden Vey, who will be a healthy scratch tonight:
He’s got to compete harder on the puck and he’s got to win the one-on-one battles...He’s been pretty good but we don’t want to be a pretty good team and that’s not what we’re striving for. And it’s not what he’s striving for. He’s got a find a way to be better.
Bo Horvat will draw back in to play Game No. 6 of his NHL career. If he plays well over the next couple of weeks, Vey's weaknesses could turn into Bo's opportunity to stick with the Canucks. I don't think Willie would shed a tear if he needed to open up a roster spot for Horvat by waiving or trading Tom Sestito once he comes off the injured list.
After seeing ex-Oilers netminder Devan Dubnyk pitch a shutout against Vancouver last week, I can't help but think that the struggles of the current tandem of Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth have more to do with the team's defensive system than they do with the goalies themselves. Scrivens gets the start tonight, according to Dallas Eakins. He's 4-7-1 this season, with a 2.94 goals-against and .899 save percentage.
Ex-Canuck Steve Pinizzotto has earned a call-up after a strong start to his season in Oklahoma City. He'll bring some grit to the Oilers lineup when he plays his first NHL game of the year tonight.
The Canucks have just hit the ice for their morning skate, with everyone present and accounted for.
No definite word yet on a starting goaltender. My money's on Willie sticking with his usual pattern for the back-to-backs: Ryan Miller will take his perfect 10-0-0 record against the Oilers to the ice at Rexall, then Eddie Lack will draw his second straight assignment against the Anaheim Ducks back in Vancouver tomorrow.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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