Saturday October 8 - Vancouver Canucks 3 - Edmonton Oilers 2
The Vancouver Canucks concluded their preseason schedule on a positive note, scoring two goals in the third period to hand the Oilers their very first defeat at brand new Rogers Place.
Here are your highlights:
Coming into the game, the Oilers had been making the most of their luxurious new digs. In their other preseason games at home, they'd defeated Calgary 4-2, Anaheim 2-1 and Winnipeg 5-2. (Their game against Los Angeles on Oct. 2 is listed as a home game, but that was the Kraft Hockeyville game played in Vernon).
The positive momentum continued for the home side through the first 40 minutes. Edmonton opened the scoring on a Benoit Pouliot goal midway through the first—but Brandon Sutter answered back just 22 seconds later to tie the game.
Then, in the second, new captain Connor McDavid scored on the power play to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead, on this sneaky flip from the goal line.
After the Canucks tidily dominated Edmonton when the two teams met last week in Vancouver, this time it was the Oilers that carried the play. Shots on goal were a stunning 18-3 in the second period and 28-8 through 40 minutes—thank Jacob Markstrom for keeping his team within one!
But here's something we didn't see last year—it was the Canucks that came back in the third. Vancouver outshot Edmonton 13-8 and chipped away.
First, Sven Baertschi tied it at 4:17 while Milan Lucic was in the penalty box for a hook on Henrik Sedin.
Then, with just 2:34 to play, Markus Granlund made me think about Markus Naslund when he potted the winner with a redirect from the slot.
Naslund was 22 when he was acquired by the Canucks in March of 1996 in exchange for Alek Stojanov—a swap of first-round draft picks that turned out to be the biggest steal in franchise history. Naslund went on to record 756 points in 884 games over 13 seasons as a Canuck.
Maybe there's something here...Granlund was 22 when he was acquired in March of 2016 for former first-rounder Hunter Shinkaruk. Just like Naslund, he posted three points in his first partial season as a Canuck.
In 1996-97, Naslund put up 20 goals and 41 points—a season that was considered a success for a player that arrived with pretty low expectations around him. If Granlund could match that this year, we'd be happy, wouldn't we?
Granlund and Brandon Sutter have shown some nice chemistry together during preseason. Have the Canucks actually managed to manufacture a third line that can score??
Did Saturday's comeback win feel odd to you? It should have. Last year, the Canucks were a dismal 3-30-1 when trailing after two periods—and only 18-4-8 when they had the lead after 40 minutes. Yes, it's only preseason, but it's a nice positive to wrap up the exhibition schedule—a sign that maybe things will be different this year.
On the other hand, I'm not sure any of the bubble forwards did much to advance their cause of making the team on Saturday.
• Jake Virtanen played just 11:17, less than any other forward, and was replaced by Emerson Etem on his line with Horvat and Baertschi for a bit in the third period. Virtanen's only entry on the stat line was two hits.
• Etem was the next-lowest man on the ice time list at 11:31. He had a relatively robust two shots, four hits and a block. Enough to keep his job?
• Tuomo Ruutu managed one shot, a team-high five hits and a takeaway in 13:10 of action on a fourth line with Brendan Gaunce and...initially Etem, later Jannik Hansen. Yes, Willie juggled his lines!
Brendan Gaunce, I think, has made the team. Though his stat line is empty except for one takeaway, he played 14:37 and, more importantly, was on the ice with Bo Horvat—plus Baertschi and Granlund—defending in the final minute while the Oilers had Cam Talbot pulled for the extra attacker. That says a lot about the confidence that Willie Desjardins now places in Gaunce—and the Canucks didn't allow Connor and company a single shot on goal after their timeout with 54 seconds to play.
One more bubble player, Troy Stecher, showed so well against the Oilers last week. On Saturday, he had no points and an early penalty for shooting the puck over the glass, but finished with one shot on goal, two blocks and was a plus-one in 19:59 of ice time.
We won't hear any word today about whether or not Stecher will be on the opening-night roster. The Canucks have a day off, then will practice Monday morning at 11 a.m. At that point, I expect we'll get a whiff of how the final cuts will shake down.
The Canucks' only roster move today is expected—the assignment of goaltender Richard Bachman.
I'll have lots of time to break down roster minutiae over the next week as we wait for Vancouver's season opener on October 15. For now, enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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