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As the Western Conference standings tighten, Canucks need points vs. Oilers

November 30, 2019, 2:28 PM ET [318 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Saturday November 30 - Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers - 7 p.m. - CBC, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet 650

Vancouver Canucks: 26 GP, 12-10-4, 28 pts, fifth in Pacific Division
Edmonton Oilers: 27 GP, 16-8-3, 35 pts, first in Pacific Division

The Vancouver Canucks started their 2019-20 season by blowing a 2-1 lead to drop a 3-2 decision to the Edmonton Oilers back on October 2.

They go into this weekend's crucial home-and-home against the Oilers in desperate need of at least one win. Though they were still officially in a playoff position on U.S. Thanksgiving on Thursday, the Canucks dropped to fifth in the Pacific and 10th in the Western Conference after practicing in Edmonton on Friday, thanks to wins by Vegas, San Jose and Nashville.

It's another busy 13-game day on the NHL schedule on Saturday, which means the Canucks could end up anywhere from seventh to 11th in the west by the end of the night. It feels a bit ridiculous to be doing this in November, but here's the quick rundown of where today's relevant teams stand.

7. Vegas - 28 GP, 30 pts, idle
8. San Jose - 27 GP, 29 pts, playing at Arizona
9. Nashville - 25 GP, 28 pts, playing at Florida
10. Vancouver - 26 GP, 28 pts, playing at Edmonton
11. Calgary - 28 GP, 28 pts, home to Ottawa

It sure woulda been nice to take two points out of Pittsburgh on Wednesday......

But as the players always say, it's important not to dwell on the past. Gotta turn the page and focus on the task at hand.

After Jacob Markstrom was held out of Wednesday's game in Pittsburgh due to illness, he was on the ice for Friday's practice, but goaltending coach Ian Clark also joined Markstrom and Thatcher Demko for precautionary reasons.



Barring any further complications, I imagine we'll see Markstrom and Demko split the weekend games.

Micheal Ferland also joined the main practice group for the first time. He was still in a non-contact jersey and didn't take line rushes, but did participate in penalty-killing drills.

There's still no definite timeline for Ferland's return to action. And it doesn't look like Travis Green will have shutdown centres Brandon Sutter or Jay Beagle available to help contain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl this weekend, either.



Here's how the lines rolled on Friday.



Breaking with his usual deployment where Chris Tanev plays with Quinn Hughes, it'll be interesting to see if Travis Green tries to use Tanev and Alex Edler against McDavid and Draisaitl as much as he can.

As for Nikolay Goldobin — he was basically a non-factor in his first NHL game of the year in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. He played more than Tyler Graovac (5:24) or Tim Schaller (7:46) against Pittsburgh, but in his 8:37 of ice time, all at even strength, his only measured stat was one hit. Goldy played 5:52 in the first period — when the Canucks were being swarmed by the Pens and managed just three shots in the entire frame. He played 2:26 in the second, and just one 19-second shift in the third.

Here's the latest from Saturday's morning skate:



Beagle and Sutter did hit the ice on their own, after the main group, and Markstrom was the first goalie off the ice, so he'll probably get the nod.

As far as the Oilers go — I imagine you're aware of Connor and Leon's torrid start.



Not surprisingly, McDavid and Draisaitl are fuelling the NHL's most potent power play, which is clicking at a 32 percent success rate. The Canucks are now fourth in the league at 26.7 percent, but because they've drawn 30 more power-play opportunities, they've actually outscored Edmonton 28-24 with the man advantage.

You're also probably aware that, after Connor and Leon, offense drops off considerably. As the Big Two approach the 50-point mark, the team's next highest scorers are Zack Kassian and Oscar Klefbom, with 18 points each, and James Neal with 17.

Neal is up to 14 goals now — a huge bounce-back from last season — but he has just three in 13 games so far in November.

The Tippett effect, of course, is more noticeable at the other end of the ice. He took Edmonton from the league's sixth-worst defensive team last season, giving up an average of 3.30 goals per game, to the seventh-best so far this year with 2.81 goals against per game. And most of that happened without top defender Adam Larsson, who missed 22 games after suffering a fractured fibula when he blocked a Quinn Hughes shot during the first game of the year.

Larsson has been back in the lineup for the last four games, but was banished in the first period of the Oilers' 4-1 loss in Colorado on Wednesday with an elbowing major and game misconduct against T.J. Tynan.

McDavid and Draisaitl were both held off the scoreboard that night. What do you think that portends against Vancouver?

Here's how Edmonton's lines are expected to roll tonight.



Yes, ex-Canuck Sam Gagner is back in the fold after an early-season trip to Bakersfield, and is playing a big role while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is sidelined due to injury. In 11 games with the Oilers this year, Gagner has a goal and three assists.

Alex Chiasson was expected to be out of action after getting crushed by a huge hit in Colorado on Wednesday, but it looks like he's good to go.

To wrap up today, a few quick prospect notes:

The Utica Comets are on the ice at Scotiabank Arena as I type this, tied 1-1 with Toronto Marlies late in the first period of a double-header before the Leafs host the Sabres in the back half of their home-and-home later on Saturday. Sven Baertschi has the Utica goal, after a two-point night in the Comets' 4-1 win over Syracuse on Wednesday. Antoine Roussel's also playing the second game of his AHL conditioning stint, but has been held off the scoresheet so far.

Speaking of doubleheaders, the Edmonton Oil Kings are hosting the Calgary Hitmen in WHL action at Rogers Place ahead of the Canucks' tilt against the Oilers on Saturday night.



With 13-9-22 in 20 games this season, Carson Focht sits second in goals and tied for third in points with the Hitmen, who are currently sitting in the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot despite a solid 14-6-2-1 record in their first 23 games. That's another uptick from last season for Focht, who took a big step forward with 64 points in 68 games and earned a fifth-round draft selection by the Canucks in his second year of eligibility. Jett Woo has 3-11-14 in 23 games — a dip from his pace of more than a point a game last season.

I was also surprised to learn that Canucks prospects Tyler Madden and Aidan Mcdonough are spending American Thanksgiving in Belfast, of all places — as part of the "Friendship Four" tournament contested by Northeastern, New Hampshire, Colgate and Princeton.

After a solid freshman season where he went 12-16-28 in 36 games for Northeastern, Madden has taken another step forward this year, leading his team with 11 goals and 21 points in Northeastern's first 15 games. Mcdonough is also off to a solid start in his freshman year, with nine points in 12 games.

With an 8-4-2 record as of the beginning of this week, Northeastern sat 13th in last Monday's national NCAA men's hockey poll. Jack Rathbone's Harvard team was ranked even higher, in sixth.

Madden, Mcdonough and Rathbone have all aged out of World Junior eligibility, but we should start seeing selection camp rosters for the various teams as early as next week — and there should be some Canucks prospects in the mix.

Enjoy the game!
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