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After having a day off, The Vancouver Canucks hope to continue on their winning ways tonight, as they head into oil country. The Canucks will go with Roberto Luongo between the pipes and who can really blame them on this one? Luongo is playing as well as any goalie right now and he has a pretty good track record against the Oilers.
While I will question the decision. I think Schneider should get this start. It has been over a week since he has played and he needs to play, to play his way out of the little funk he is in. Let's not forget that Schneider is the guy who shutdown the high powered Ducks attack. He is perfectly capable of beating the Oilers. That's not to say I wouldn't go back to Luongo next game because of how well he is playing, but I think Cory needs his starts too or this two star goalies thing may just get ugly quick.
As far as the game goes I think we will see Vancouver play with the same crap, I mean trap defensive system. If they can keep the Oilers to the outside and keep Edler off the ice against Eberle, they should be fine and at least get a point out of this one. If they let the Oilers dictate an up tempo pace, this one could be interesting.
Vancouver will need to keep the puck along the boards and grind this one out to win. I've seen the Oilers a few times this year and one thing they cannot do to save their lives is win battles along the boards. In a lot of respects, they remind me of when Vancouver played Boston a few years back. When that puck is along the boards, you just knew there was a Bruin coming out with it much like I'm sure Oilers fans know the opponent is coming out with the puck. Vancouver needs to get the puck in the corners and wear down the Oilers.
For the Oilers to win they will need to push the pace on the Canucks. So far this season the Canucks always look dead come the third period. If Edmonton is close going into the third, my guess is they win because we know that's when this year's Canucks team is at their worst.
All in all, it's fun when these two teams play. I think we are due to see the Canucks crap the bed in front of Luongo. I think Lu keeps it close but I'll say 3-2 Oilers in a shootout.
3-2 Oilers in a shootout
Respect Your Rival
Jeff Petry
I was going to go with Justin Schultz for this instalment of "Respect Your Rival", but I really felt the need to draw attention to how well Jeff Petry has played this season. Admittedly, I didn't know a ton about Petry coming into this year, but the guy has the makings of being a real good, top-4 type guy. He's big, he skates well and he isn't afraid to hit. Last time Vancouver played Edmonton I thought he was the best Oiler on the ice and he was very noticeable. Add to that, Petry has that ever elusive right-handed shot that the Vancouver D is always in search of, and the Oilers have a guy that I think would look pretty darn good next to Edler.
That’s a wrap.
Ian
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