:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65801486/usa_today_13455650.0.jpg)
VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs EDMONTON OILERS
7:00PM PST ROGERS PLACE, EDMONTON, AB
TV: SPORTSNET, CBC. RADIO: SN650.
OPPOSITION BLOG: COPPER AND BLUE
The Canucks can finish this 6 game roadtrip with a 3-3-0 record with a win tonight, but after Wednesday night’s shitshow, that seems like a fairly monumental task. They face an Edmonton Oilers team that appears to have finally settled in to what seems like eons of disappointment given the number of high draft picks they’d garnered. They’re playing well defensively and getting good goaltending, and while they still don’t get enough secondary scoring, as long as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and James Neal don’t get injured or abducted they might just be able to keep rolling the way they are.
The Canucks meanwhile are a mere shadow of the team we saw in October. Defensively just as terrible as they were last year, which has lead to the goaltending being hung out to dry, and injuries to the bottom 6 which has led to guys like Bo Horvat being overworked and taken out of his comfort zone for lack of a better term, a ripple effect that has torn through the lineup this month. They’re now out of a playoff spot, and they’re going to have to have a December that closer resembles October to avoid falling any further than they already have.
LINEUPS:
#Oilers:
— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) November 30, 2019
Draisaitl-McDavid-Kassian
Neal-Gagner-Chiasson
Khaira-Sheahan-Archibald
Granlund-Haas-P.Russell
Klefbom-Jones
Nurse-Bear
K.Russell-Larsson
Smith
Lines for the #Canucks at practice in Edmonton:
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) November 29, 2019
Miller-Horvat-Eriksson/Goldobin
Virtanen-Pettersson-Boeser
Pearson-Gaudette-Leivo
Schaller-Graovac-MacEwen
Edler-Tanev
Hughes-Myers
Benn-Stecher
Fantenberg pic.twitter.com/u5dJPvNXng
It’s likely to be Loui Eriksson that is the one who sits tonight, and it will be Jacob Markstrom in goal. Given how poor the defence was on Wednesday, I am a little surprised that Oscar Fantenberg hasn’t been given an opportunity tonight, but maybe we see him tomorrow night when these teams meet again.
GAME DAY CHATTER:
“They’re a great team, we know their top two guys, but their team is good overall. This is a big weekend for us. These divisional games are important. We want to end this trip and go home winning.” - @_EPettersson
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) November 30, 2019
"You need to be a little bit more on the safer side because they can make plays." - Quinn Hughes comments on playing against McDavid and Draisaitl. pic.twitter.com/hxKlp11skn
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) November 30, 2019
Coach Travis Green comments on the #Canucks level of urgency facing the top of the division Oilers on back-to-back nights. pic.twitter.com/MllWE6Kbwf
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) November 30, 2019
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN:
Not everything in Edmonton is awful, and we give you THE ORDER OF CHAOS as a prime example. Catchy, groove-laden riffs, and a pretty solid vocalist in Amanda Kiernan, this is a band that’s slipped through the cracks on me but one I definitely will be digging deep on. Check out this ‘Indoctrination’, shot live in China. Enjoy the game, if that’s even possible.