Updated: Canucks Game Day: Connor McDavid won't play and neither will Thatcher Demko
Saturday's result will have a big impact on who wins the Pacific Division. Connor McDavid will not play due to injury.
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Vancouver Canucks (48-22-9) vs. Edmonton Oilers (48-24-8)
When and where: Saturday, 7 p.m., Rogers Place
TV: Hockey Night In Canada. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: When the NHL puts together its schedule every year, it looks to put divisional rivals together as much as possible in the final weeks of the season. It’s in hopes of moments like this, where two high-powered teams show down with everything on the line. The stakes on Saturday are pretty simple: If the Canucks win, they’ll just about seal the deal on winning the division, although they would still need one more win to wrap it all up. If the Oilers win, well … oh boy. They’d still have a lot of work to do to win the division, but that would be a big, big hurdle they would have successfully cleared.
“We’re going to go day by day,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said about the chances that Thatcher Demko could play on Saturday. Demko said Thursday the plan had been for him to return Tuesday against Calgary, but seemed quietly optimistic he could be an option Saturday in Edmonton.
• News broke Saturday morning that Oilers star Connor McDavid will not suit up against Vancouver. He’s been day to day all week with a lower body injury.
• And while a ray of hope appeared Thursday that Thatcher Demko might return from injury against the Oilers, he isn’t. He said the target all along was for him to return against the Flames on Tuesday and that remains the course.
Although he was on the ice Saturday morning, it was Casey DeSmith who took the starter’s crease and the veteran is now expected to face the Oilers. Arturs Silovs, who has been backing up DeSmith since Demko hit the injured list more than a month ago, was also on the ice Saturday morning.
• The Canucks’ magic number is down to five after the Oilers lost in overtime to the Arizona Coyotes. That means any combination of Vancouver wins and Edmonton losses that totals up to five points will see the Canucks win their first division title since 2013.
The history: The Oilers’ season looks very, very different from when these teams last met in November. The Canucks won all three of those early-season games. Edmonton couldn’t defend. The Canucks scored 18 goals in those three games, and they weren’t the only NHL opponent feasting on the Oilers. Things got so bad, the Oilers fired head coach Jay Woodcroft, just days after the Canucks beat the Oilers for a third time. Since then, they’ve gone 45-15-4.
The hope: The Canucks have struggled a lot of late, but it hasn’t been because of their defending. Their defence has improved immensely over the course of the season. It’s the offence that has stumbled at times. They do have one other advantage: They’re well-rested going into Saturday, while the Oilers faced the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night.
The fear: Connor McDavid is, once again, having a season for the ages. Although not playing against Vancouver, he can take over a game at a moment’s notice. Elias Pettersson, take note.
The top guns: Quinn Hughes is trying to take his squad to the promised land, and he has been on a remarkable run — nine points in five games. J.T. Miller has six assists in that stretch. Leon Draisaitl had six points in five games going into Friday’s game. McDavid has scored 11 goals since the All-Star break, but he has 52 assists.
The quote: “He’s our rock. When he does come back, obviously it instils confidence,” Tocchet said about Demko’s return.
The wounded: Canucks: Thatcher Demko (knee, day to day). Oilers: Conor McDavid (lower-body, day to day), Sam Carrick (undisclosed, day to day).
The lineup:
Forwards
Höglander-Pettersson-Mikheyev
Suter-Miller-Boeser
Joshua-Lindholm-Garlan
DiGiuseppe-Blueger-Lafferty
Defence
Hughes-Hronek
Soucy-Myers
Zadorov-Juulsen
Goalie
The prediction: The Canucks had a big win on Monday against Vegas. They should have won Wednesday versus Arizona. They will squeeze this one out 4-3.
(FAN FORUM: Do you have a specific question for a player? Pass it along to @provincesports and we’ll get it in a future edition.)
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