The Vancouver Canucks play their second game of the season tonight against a familiar opponent, the Edmonton Oilers. This will be their third matchup in the last two weeks, as they faced each other twice in the preseason, with the Oilers taking the first one 4-3 and the Canucks countering with a 3-2 win a few days later. This game marks the 273rd time the Oilers and Canucks have faced each other in the regular season. The Canucks are 114-123-19-16 all-time against their Canadian rivals, and went 1-2-0 in their season series in 2024-25. They will play another two games this season, but the next one won’t be until Jan. 17 when the Oilers travel to Rogers Arena.
Canucks Storylines
After handily beating the Calgary Flames 5-1 on Thursday thanks to a four-goal third period led by Filip Chytil, the Canucks are confident heading onto the road to face the Oilers. They will ice the same lineup, with Braeden Cootes suiting up for his second NHL game. He was born in nearby Sherwood Park, so I would expect a large contingent of his family and friends to be in attendance. He had a solid NHL debut on Thursday, playing 11:14 on a line with Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Evander Kane. He will remain with those linemates for this game as well.
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl watches as forward Connor McDavid stick checks Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson (Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports)
That also means Teddy Blueger remains on the sidelines. He didn’t practice on Friday, so the Canucks will rely again on the group of Drew O’Connor, Conor Garland, Kiefer Sherwood, Arshdeep Bains, Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson, Aatu Raty, and Brock Boeser to fill in as penalty killers in his absence. He was second only to Pius Suter last season in shorthanded ice time per game, so him being out creates a big hole in their PK. They held their own against the Flames, going 4/4, but the Oilers present a much stiffer challenge. Even with Blueger, the Canucks have struggled to keep their power play at bay; it will be interesting to see how they do without him. Bains in particular stepped up in that role against the Flames, blocking a couple key shots, and deflecting another to keep the Flames off the board.
They Said It
“They play fast; they have superstar talent…It’s going to be a good challenge for us. We’re a group that relies on every guy in this room, and we’ve got a lot of lines, a lot of guys in this room that when we dig in are hard to play against.” – Bains on facing the Oilers tonight
Team Stats
Vancouver Canucks
Season Record: 1-0-0
Top Scorers:
Filip Chytil – 2 goals (G), 0 assists (A), 2 points (P)
Brock Boeser – 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
Kiefer Sherwood – 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
Jonathan Lekkerimaki – 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
Five players tied with 1 assist each (Drew O’Connor, Evander Kane, Conor Garland, Jake DeBrusk & Arshdeep Bains)
Goalie Stats:
Thatcher Demko – 1-0-0, 1.01 goals-against average (GAA), .944 save percentage (SV%)
Related: Canucks News & Rumours: Foote’s Start, Kane’s Homecoming & Hughes’ Norris
Edmonton Oilers
Season Record: 0-0-1
Top Scorers:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
Leon Draisaitl – 1 G, 1 A, 2 P
Connor McDavid – 0 G, 2 A, 2 P
Andrew Mangiapane – 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
David Tomasek – 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
Goalie Stats:
Stuart Skinner – 0-0-1, 2.77 GAA, .864 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers projected lineup article.
Vancouver Canucks
Jake DeBrusk — Elias Pettersson — Brock Boeser
Arshdeep Bains — Filip Chytil — Conor Garland
Evander Kane — Braeden Cootes — Jonathan Lekkerimaki
Drew O’Connor — Aatu Raty — Kiefer Sherwood
Quinn Hughes — Filip Hronek
Marcus Pettersson — Tyler Myers
Derek Forbort — Elias Pettersson
Thatcher Demko
Kevin Lankinen
Scratched: Linus Karlsson, Victor Mancini
Injured: Teddy Blueger (lower body), Guillaume Brisebois (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body)
How Has Demko Fared Against the Oilers?
Demko will face the Oilers for the 17th time in his career tonight. He has a 6-9-1 record all-time against them with a 2.93 GAA and .911 SV%. He last faced them in the regular season on Jan. 23, 2025, where he allowed six goals on 34 shots in a 6-2 loss.
Edmonton Oilers
Leon Draisaitl — Connor McDavid — Trent Frederic
Andrew Mangiapane — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Matthew Savoie
Isaac Howard — Adam Henrique — David Tomasek
Vasily Podkolzin — Noah Philp — Kasperi Kapanen
Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse — Alec Regula
Brett Kulak — Ty Emberson
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Curtis Lazar, Troy Stecher
Injured: Mattias Janmark (undisclosed), Zach Hyman (wrist), Jake Walman (undisclosed)
How Has Pickard Fared Against the Canucks?
The Oilers are deciding to start Pickard in this game, even though they haven’t played since Wednesday when the Flames came back from a 3-0 deficit to win in the shootout 4-3. He has a 1-2-1 all-time record against the Canucks with a 2.49 GAA and .918 SV%. He last faced them in the regular season on Jan. 23, 2025 and made 24 stops in a 6-2 win.
Puck drop is set for 7 pm at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The game can be watched on CBC and Sportsnet Pacific.
What’s Next for the Canucks?
After a short one-game road trip, the Canucks head back home to face the St. Louis Blues in the first Prime Monday Night Hockey matchup of the season. They will then head onto a five-game road trip, with stops in Dallas, Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Nashville, before returning home to face the Montreal Canadiens. The trip will feature the first back-to-back of the season, on Oct. 16 and 17, so expect to see Kevin Lankinen either against the Stars or Blackhawks. I am betting on his former team, the Blackhawks.
