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Edmonton Oilers at Vancouver Canucks - Friday December 13 - 6:00 pm - CBC
Vancouver Canucks: 18-10-5 fifth in Pacific Division Edmonton Oilers: 11-19-3 seventh in Pacific Division
After three days off the ice, the Vancouver Canucks look to extend their five-game winning streak when they face the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night at Rogers Arena.
Things are going so well for Vancouver now, they even managed to climb the standings while they were idle. Minnesota went 0-2 this week to push the Canucks all the way up to sixth place in the Western Conference before they fell back down to eighth after wins by Colorado and Phoenix on Thursday.
Friday night's game will be the second regular-season meeting between the Canucks and Oilers, after Vancouver won its home opener 6-2 back in October. Edmonton won both preseason matches between the teams, including the September 21 tilt that saw both Zack Kassian and Dale Weise draw suspensions after a feisty affair.
As has been well-documented, the Oilers remain mired in last place in the Western Conference. They have been better of late, with a 3-2-1 record so far in December. For Edmonton, this is the second half of a back-to-back: they dropped a 4-2 decision to Boston on Thursday at Rexall Place.
Devan Dubnyk started Thursday's game for Edmonton but was pulled after one period when the Bruins built a 3-0 lead. Jason LaBarbera was strong for the Oilers the rest of the way. No word yet on who gets the start tonight, but Roberto Luongo will be between the pipes for Vancouver.
So far, the efforts of the Zack Kassian booster squad to get him onto the first line with the Sedins have been in vain. Jannik Hansen practised with the twins again on Thursday, and John Tortorella said he still doesn't think Kassian is responsible enough defensively. From Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun:
“I'm not ready to put Zack in those situations where I am playing that line against probably the top two lines on the opposing team,… Tortorella said. “We're still in the process of trying to get Zack to process the game, not only with the puck but away from the puck. So that's where I'm at there. It's tough when you have to worry about pucks going in the back of your net when players just aren't ready to read those situations.“When I use Danny and Hank, it's usually against a top line, or at least the top six. With Kass, I don't think he has processed and learned that part of the game well enough to be put in those situations.…
Torts even seemed to acknowledge that he *does* care what the media crew thinks of his choices:
“I would love to find a fit for them with Burr out but I haven't been able to,… Tortorella continued. “Hansen was there today in practice. I tried David there the other night. I don't think either of them worked and I don't want to move Ryan Kesler right now. You guys will kick the (rhymes with spit) out of me if I move Kess out of the middle and put him on right wing.…
So, it sounds like he'll ice basically the same lineup as on Monday against the Hurricanes.
In addition to the injured Burrows and Edler, Tom Sestito is expected to miss his second straight game with what Torts simply called a "body injury" after Monday's game.
Note the early start time and unusual network for tonight's game. Puck drop's at 6:00, and the game's on CBC.
Unfortunately, I won't be in attendance for either game this weekend due to other commitments. I will check in tomorrow with a game review and to tee up the tilt against Boston.
What Will Happen With Luongo?
Thanks for more great discussion on Thursday's message board surrounding the potential penalties if Roberto Luongo is traded, then retires early. I agree—it is surprising that the cap-recapture issue hasn't been explored in more depth in the mainstream media, but it's also brain-numbing to deal with all the hypotheticals.
If I remember correctly, the scenario I used when floating my $2 million recapture penalty yesterday involved Luo retiring four years early. It seems if he gets closer to the end of his contract, the penalty increases, which I hadn't realized. I think it also matters which team he's traded to.
If you want to play around with the numbers yourself, here's the link to CapGeek.com's Recapture Calculator.
In terms of how it will play out, good arguments have been made on all sides about the true intentions of Luongo, Gillis and the Aquilinis.
As I stated when we started this discussion a couple of days ago, I don't think the Aquilinis will buy out the contract—but that assumption could well turn out to be incorrect.
I doubt they'd have much luck fighting the league on the terms of the penalty. They're a member team and they signed off on the CBA, so they probably have to take the good with the bad.
But—I'm not entirely sure that Roberto's as desperate to get out of Vancouver as he once was. I'm hoping he'll eventually say "I want to finish what we started and help this team win a Stanley Cup." For now, I'll have to settle for the team spirit embodied in the latest Tweet from @Strombone1:
Every kiss begins with K........ pic.twitter.com/hEtzKFCj45
— Strombone (@strombone1) December 12, 2013Quick Hits:
- With the Canucks facing two potential powder-keg games this weekend, this is a great moment to look inside operations at the NHL's player safety "war room." The Boston Globe's Amalie Benjamin has a great look here at what really goes on behind the scenes.
- James Shoalts of The Globe and Mail has the latest news from the sports networks in light of Rogers' new deal with the NHL. So far, it looks like most of the key talent at TSN will be staying put. Click here for the story.
- HBO's 24/7 returns this weekend, focusing on the run-up to the Winter Classic game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings on January 1. For the first time, the series will be available on basic cable in Canada. The first episode runs Sunday at 4:30 Pacific, on Sportsnet Pacific.
The Sportsnet website has a good preview article, focusing on memories from Bruce Boudreau and Dan Blysma of 24/7's inaugural season. Click here to read.