Saturday night brings an All-Canadian matchup that sees division rivals go to battle as the Vancouver Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers on Hockey Night in Canada.
This is the second game between the Canucks and Oilers this season and the two teams will play two games in six days with the Canucks travelling to Edmonton for a game on the 23rd of January.
The Canucks are looking to get back to their winning ways and it starts with getting back up and digging in.
“You get punched in the mouth and you get back up,” said head coach Rick Tocchet in Thursday’s postgame media availability. “You can’t quit on yourself or your teammates. If you’re in this business long enough, you’re going to get these situations.”
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl is the leading goal scorer of the league and has scored 31 goals through 45 games played. Draisaitl has 36 assists, and his 67 points put him in second place in the league.
The Oilers have won eight of their last nine games and come into Saturday’s game as the second-placed team in the Pacific Division. Saturday’s game will be the Oilers’ third game in four nights as they wrap up a three-game road trip.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- The Oilers are the sixth-highest-scoring team in the league and are averaging 3.31 goals for per game.
- They are sixth-best in the league in allowing goals against, having given up an average of 2.73 goals per game.
- Their power play ranks 8th in the league and is clicking at 24.1% through 45 games played. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid each have seven power play goals this season and McDavid leads with 19 power play points.
- Stuart Skinner continues to garner most of the starts in net this season. The 26-year-old netminder has started 30 of their 45 games and has an 18-9-3 record with a .902% save percentage, 2.69 goals-against average and two shutouts.
- Former Canuck Vasily Podkolzin leads the Oilers with 98 hits.
- The Oilers are 24th in the league on the penalty kill and have killed off 76.2% of their penalties this season. Connor Brown and Darnell Nurse have a shorthanded goal this season.
- Evan Bouchard leads the Oilers with 23:32 of ice time per game. The right-shot defenceman has eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points. Mattias Ekholm comes in second on the Oilers, averaging 22:46 per game.
- The Bouchard-Ekholm pairing has played more minutes (734:53) at five-on-five than any other defence pairing in the league.
The Story: Lekki and Petey
Jonathan Lekkerimäki led the Canucks with four scoring chances on Thursday night and was doing so while playing on a line with compatriot Elias Pettersson. The Swedes both have a lethal shot and have shown they have a high IQ in both the offensive and defensive zone.
Though it is a small sample size of just 16:15 together on a line at five-on-five, the duo has found success in creating scoring chances and generating quality shots on net.
Lekkerimäki has two goals and one assist through 11 NHL games this season. He has spent most of the year in the AHL, where he found success with his high-level shot. The 20-year-old winger had 12 goals in 21 AHL games before his most recent call-up to the big club.
“He’s skillful, [and] has a great shot,” said Pettersson. “I’m trying to set him up with positions to score. He had a good look yesterday, it just didn’t go in, so yeah, more of that.”
Pettersson was asked if playing with Lekkerimäki makes him feel old and joked that he does not feel like he’s already in his seventh NHL season. He later mentioned that it is great to see Lekkerimäki playing games in the NHL at age 20 and it helped Pettersson remember some of the fun he had when he was in the NHL at 20 years old.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Quinn Hughes: 2g-2a-4p
Kiefer Sherwood: 1g-1a-2p
Conor Garland: 1g-1a-2p
Tyler Myers: 0g-2a-2p
Nils Höglander: 1g-0a-1p
Brock Boeser: 1g-0a-1p
When and Where to Watch
Saturday’s game is a 7:00 p.m. PT start, and you can watch it on Hockey Night in Canada or listen to the radio call on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
