PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Canucks

The Edmonton Oilers wrap up their regular season on Friday night with the second game of a back-to-back at Rogers Place against the Vancouver Canucks.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet One and Pacific or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Video: OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game vs VAN 04.29.22

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game vs. VAN
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Kailer Yamamoto
PRE-GAME RAW | Duncan Keith
RECENT VIDEOS
OILERS TODAY: Post-Game San Jose
POST-RAW: Coach Jay Woodcroft
POST-RAW: Brett Kulak
POST-RAW: Philip Broberg
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Canucks Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: Yamamoto brings the bite
RECAP: Oilers 5, Sharks 4
BLOG: Ben Stelter at Oilers Practice
BLOG: Oiler praised in NHLPA poll
VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Friday's game on Sportsnet One and Pacific at 7:00 PM MT.
News and notes from Oilers organization, including five-year-old cancer fighter Ben Stelter joining the team on the ice at Thursday's morning skate.
**>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG**
EDMONTON, AB - One more to play before the big dance.
Game 82 of the regular season arrives on Friday along with the Vancouver Canucks, who will contest the final game of the regular season against the Edmonton Oilers to Rogers Place before the Orange & Blue turn their attention to the Los Angeles Kings in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs early next week.
"You don't really think about it too much," defenceman Duncan Keith said. "It's just another game, and there are 82 games in the schedule. Just go out and do your job and work on the habits we've talked about from day one. That's all part of it now that we've clinched our spot."
Having their position and opposition in the postseason already determined heading into the final game of the regular season will allow the Oilers to make a number of lineup changes, including resting two of their stars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid on Friday in a decision that will allow Head Coach Jay Woodcroft to preserve the two stars for when the puck drops on Game 1 of the First Round.
"I think the way that decision happens is we talk about it as a coaching staff, a management group, and then we talk with our players about it," Woodcroft said. "We just think it's a smart move heading into playoffs that could start as early as Monday."
Furthermore, the lineup choices will allow the team's depth to get an opportunity for some extra conditioning and game action heading into Round 1 against the Kings.
"It's just about making sure their energy levels, their complete wellness, is where it needs to be heading into a playoff series," he said.
"We're fortunate to be in the position that we're in. We know where we're going to be, we know where we're going to start, we know who our opponent is, and the side benefit is that we're allowing some other people to be re-introduced to our lineup and get up and running because we know come playoff time, we're going to need lots of people. You want people feeling good heading into that playoff run."
Video: PRE-RAW | Kailer Yamamoto 04.29.22
Every game in the regular season is still an opportunity that the Oilers are going to embrace to get better before embarking on a playoff run. Game 82 on Friday night will be no different than Game 1.
"I think you always want to play good and feel good about your game going in," Keith said. "We've done a fairly good job at that so far, so it's one more game we're going to try to hammer down our habits, or details and our structure. But having said that, it's all about executing when the time comes."
But even as the excitement builds, it's hard not to look past the final game for some towards the buzz that will certainly take over Oil Country in the coming weeks when the regular season swaps over to the postseason.
"This is going to be my first playoffs in front of fans and I'm excited," Kailer Yamamoto said. "Talking with all the older vets they say this town is insane when it comes to playoff hockey. The fans are incredible. I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully, it's going to be a deep one and a fun one."
NO DOCTOR ON CALL
Without Darnell 'Doc' Nurse on call once again for the final regular-season game, the rest of the defensive unit has to pick up the slack.
"It's a big hole," Keith said. "Obviously he's a huge part of our team, especially our defence core with the way he can take up a lot of minutes -- whether it's penalty kill, 5-on-5, powerplay -- he's a huge part of our success, so we definitely miss him."
"But I think when guys are out, especially guys that take up a lot of minutes, we need everybody to collectively pick up the slack whether that's in minutes or their play with whatever minutes they're given."
Coach Woodcroft spoke pre-game and said despite Nurse having a good few days of recovery from an undisclosed injury, the defender is not ready to return to the lineup and has yet to skate since suffering the ailment in a 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche one week ago.
But what the bench boss has seen from the rest of the d-core during Nurse's absence has been mightily encouraging, with different defencemen stepping into different roles, positions and partnerships.
Video: PRE-RAW | Duncan Keith 04.29.22
"We've seen people elevate their game," he said. "Obviously Kulak has really stepped up in that position alongside Ceci, so that's a positive. Philip Broberg came in and he'd been out for a while. He played a few games in Bakersfield, and for him to come up and score his first NHL goal last night in a big moment, I think that's a positive sign. We have a real comfort level with his skillset and what he can bring to our d-core.
"I think we've asked that group to keep it simple and they've played very well here for us."
While there's no timeline on the return of Nurse, teammates are optimistic we'll see the Doctor back in service for the Oilers in time for Game 1 early next week.
"Hopefully we can get him back soon," Keith said. "I think it sounds good, so hopefully he's back soon."
LINEUP NOTES
In addition to confirming the news that both McDavid and Draisaitl will sit out to rest tonight for the regular-season finale, along with Nurse remaining out with injury, Coach Woodcroft had a number of choices to make when it came to tonight.
Zack Kassian is good to go despite taking a high stick in Thursday's overtime win over the San Jose Sharks. Defenceman Philip Broberg, who scored his first NHL goal in the third period, was loaned back to the Bakersfield Condors later in the afternoon.
Josh Archibald will jump back into the lineup for the first time since April 1 against the St. Louis Blues, with Woodcroft hoping to see the forward deploy his energetic and diverse skillset before the start of the playoffs.
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 04.29.22
"I want him to demonstrate what he has over his career in terms of the ingredients he brings to the team," he said. "I see a player who brings energy, I see a player who's good on the penalty kill, skates well and is physical."
Mikko Koskinen will start in goal for the second-straight game and second-consecutive night after making 40 saves on 44 shots against the Sharks.
Further decisions, like keeping a veteran like Keith in the lineup, were made in a direct consultation between the player and coaching staff.
"I think in the daily interactions with your players, you get a feeling for that kind of thing," Woodcroft said. "You kind of take straw polls and you understand where their opinions lie and whatnot. Duncan's a gamer and he wants to play."
Keith was a part of 10 playoffs over his 17 seasons in Chicago with the Blackhawks and sees tonight as an opportunity to stay sharp for when the postseason begins.
"I never really think about it too much," Keith said. "I just kind of assume that I'm playing, and I like playing. I'd rather be out there playing, staying in the moment taking what's right ahead of me, so that's the game tonight and we want to finish hard. That's where my mindset is at."
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS vs. CANUCKS
STREAM: 7:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet One and Pacific
Oilers Team Scope
The Oilers are ready to wrap up the NHL regular season against the Vancouver Canucks before hosting the Los Angeles Kings early next week for Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Edmonton is coming off an exhilarating 5-4 overtime victory on Thursday night against San Jose. The Sharks jumped out ahead early with a pair of goals by Noah Gregor just 26 seconds apart. The first goal came off a turnover which saw Gregor walk in and snipe one from the circle, while the second was a case of bad luck as a cross-crease feed deflected in off a skate in front of Koskinen.
The Oilers would battle back in front of the Rogers Place faithful. Goals from Ryan McLeod and Kailer Yamamoto drew the game level in the second period, while goals from Derek Ryan and Philip Broberg -- his first in the NHL -- tied the game in the third. Zach Hyman completed the comeback in the extra period, receiving a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pass on a two-on-one and burying it behind Reimer to bring on 'La Bamba'.
"We found a way to win," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Obviously didn't start the way we wanted to start tonight, but credit to our players. On a night where everything didn't fire on all cylinders, they found a way to win."
The win completed the series sweep against the Sharks with a spotless 4-0 record against the California club on the season.
Edmonton is looking to repeat the trick tomorrow, currently sporting a perfect 3-0 mark against the Canucks this season. The most recent game matchup between the Western Canadian rivals ended in a 3-2 overtime win in favour of the Oilers at Rogers Arena. Every game between the two clubs has been close this year, with a single goal being the difference in all three games.
Video: PRE-RAW | Duncan Keith 04.29.22
Canucks Team Scope
It has been a tale of two seasons for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Pacific Division rival's year has followed a very similar script to the Edmonton Oilers, at least until the ending. In December, the Canucks parted ways with Head Coach Travis Green and installed NHL veteran Bruce Boudreau behind the bench.
Prior to his appointment, Vancouver was 8-15-2 and sitting dead last in the Pacific Division standings. The 67-year-old's arrival has seen a turnaround of fortunes, leading the Canucks to a 32-15-9 record since Dec. 6, 2021. The veteran bench boss had the once down-and-out Canucks back in playoff contention up until the final two weeks of the season - the team's .645 points percentage under Boudreau would have been the fifth-best in the Western Conference over the course of an entire season.
The biggest beneficiary of Boudreau's arrival may be Canucks centre JT. Miller. In 25 games under Green, Miller had a solid 23 points (8G, 15A). Since then, Miller has sniped his way to a tie for ninth in league scoring with 98 points (31G, 67A), including a 1.40 points-per-game average since Dec. 6.
Vancouver is coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Oilers playoff opponents on Thursday night. The Canucks were led by a pair of goals by Brock Boeser, including the overtime winner for his 23rd goal of the season. The Canucks were backstopped by rookie goaltender Spencer Martin, who is filling in for an injured Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak.
Los Angeles Kings saw goals by Gabriel Vilardi and Adrian Kempe, while Cal Peterson stopped 26 of 29 shots in the loss.
Video: PRE-RAW | Kailer Yamamoto 04.29.22
By The Numbers
The Oilers are 9-3-0 against the Canucks in their last 12 games… Edmonton goalies have put up a .947 save percentage this season against Vancouver, their fourth-highest total against any team… Connor McDavid is three points away from 700 in his career… The Oilers Captain has 54 points in 34 career games against the Canucks, including a 12-game point streak (9G, 18A)… With a win, Mike Smith can tie Grant Fuhr for the Oilers record for the longest winning streak in a season…
The Canucks and their 89 points are the second-most points for a non-playoff team in the Western Conference… The Canucks are averaging nearly an entire goal more per game under Bruce Boudreau than they were under Travis Green (3.31 to 2.36)… Vancouver has the third-best powerplay at 26.8 percent since Dec. 6… The Canucks are 28-2-0 when scoring four or more goals this season… JT. Miller's 67 assists are the most by a Canucks player not named Henrik Sedin… Quin Hughes has scored 63 points, passing Doug Lidster for the most by a Canucks defenceman in a single season… Elias Pettersson's 14 goals since Mar. 26 are tied for the most in the NHL…
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 04.29.22
Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) on IR, Darnell Nurse (lower-body) day-to-day
Canucks - Brandon Sutter (illness) on IR, Micheal Ferland (concussion) on IR, Brady Keeper (fractured leg) on IR, Nils Hoglander (lower-body) on IR, Tucker Poolman, (head) on IR, Tanner Pearson (upper-body) day-to-day, Bo Horvat (lower-body) day-to-day, Jaroslav Halak (upper-body) day-to-day, Travis Dermott (illness) day-to-day, Thatcher Demko (undisclosed) day-to-day, William Lockwood (upper-body) day-to-day.
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com