The Edmonton Oilers lost a lot of games in the first month of the season. They're not losing much now.
Last season's Western Conference Champions lost three straight games to start this season, including a 5-2 loss to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. They went 6-7-1 in their first 14 games with a minus-12 goal differential, which had people with a team that many had picked to win the Stanley Cup.
Since that slow start, the Oilers are 23-6-2 and have won eight of their last nine games on their current heater. They're currently tied for top spot in the Pacific Division with the Vegas Golden Knights.
It all started with a third-period collapse by the Canucks.
The , they were trailing by one goal heading into the third period but were still very much in the game. They had scored two goals in the second period to claw their way back from a 3-0 deficit and the defensively fragile Oilers looked like they were once again going to fall apart.
Instead, the Canucks gave up four goals in less than five minutes in an utterly disastrous third period. They went on to lose the game 7-3.
The lopsided win helped the Oilers get their season back on track. Now, the Canucks would love it if the Oilers could return the favour.
The Canucks are in a downward spiral, having lost 11 of their last 14 games with a 3-6-5 record. Thanks to the points from taking some of their losses to overtime and their peers in the playoff race having their own struggles, the Canucks are still in the thick of things, just one point back from the Calgary Flames for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
If the Canucks want to stay in the hunt for the playoffs, however, they need to turn things around as soon as possible. It would just be nice if they didn't have to do it against the red-hot Oilers.
A win over this Oilers team would certainly be a boost to the Canucks' confidence but it won't be easy. The Oilers are defending far better now than they did at the beginning of the season, their goaltending has improved, and they're finding the back of the net seemingly at will, led by the one-two punch of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
"When you play McDavid and Draisaitl, they're obviously special players, so you've got to be ready for them," said head coach Rick Tocchet. "It's a big challenge for us."
"It's pretty much your first look when you're hopping out, whether it's a draw or if it's mid-play, especially, you're scanning that ice to see what's coming," said Carson Soucy of facing those top two players. "A lot of times, they're winding up, they're finding really good spots to get their speed going — they're obviously really good at it."
Now would be a really good time for J.T. Miller to snap out of his current funk or for Elias Pettersson to take over a game in a manner befitting his contract.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
The Canucks didn't change up their lines at Friday's practice after a brutal loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, but there's a chance they could still change by game time.
For now, here are the Canucks' projected lines:
Jonathan Lekkerimäki was the only Canucks skater on the ice at the team's optional morning skate and he might not be in the lineup on Saturday night.
If that happens, perhaps Pius Suter will slide to the wing, either with Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller. Suter was a boon to Miller and Brock Boeser last season and Miller could certainly use the boost right now. If Suter does slide to the wing, expected Teddy Blueger to be bumped up to centre the third line, while Max Sasson would get back into the lineup as the fourth-line centre.
The Canucks' starting goaltender will be Thatcher Demko, as the team looks to get their star goaltender get back in the groove.
Edmonton Oilers projected lines
Much like the Kings on Thursday, the Oilers are expected to line up with 11 forwards and 7 defencemen on Saturday night. Jeff Skinner is expected to be a healthy scratch.
Here are the Oilers' projected lines:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin - Leon Draisaitl - Viktor Arvidsson
Mattias Janmark - Adam Henrique - Connor Brown
Noah Philp - Corey Perry
Mattias Ekholm - Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse - Troy Stecher
Brett Kulak - Ty Emberson
Joshua Brown
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
The Oilers signed free agent defenceman John Klingberg to a one-year contract on Friday but he won't be playing on Saturday. He won't even be practicing with the Oilers until Monday, with the team looking to get him back up to speed.
The Oilers' starting goaltender is expected to be Stuart Skinner, who has a .902 save percentage this season but has been sharp lately, with a shutout two games ago against the Kings.
