PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Canucks
EDMONTON, AB – Game 82 and plenty left to settle in the playoff picture.
The Edmonton Oilers can secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night with a victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place in the final game of their regular season.
“It’s high importance,” defenceman Darnell Nurse said. “Going into the playoffs, you’re looking forward to them, but this is a huge game for us, and we get to choose our own fate and our own outcome. We’ve got to make this last one count.”
After the Golden Knights clinched top spot in the Pacific with 95 points, the Oilers (91) are in need of a single point to finish second in the division and claim home ice to set up a potential Game 1 at Rogers Place later this week against either the Ducks (90) or the Kings (90) to begin the first round, depending on the results of their final games on Thursday.
For the Oilers, anything other than a victory over the 32nd-ranked Canucks could result in them having to start the postseason on the road – either the third seed in the Pacific or the second Wild Card – so there’s no shortage of ambition from the players & coaches to win for the chance to open in front of their fans.
“Absolutely,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said after Wednesday’s practice. “Our goal is to win and set us up better for the playoffs, whether we’re fortunate enough to get home-ice advantage or possibly win the Pacific. But our mindset is to win tomorrow to help us in the long run.”