Canucks at Oilers
The Vancouver Canucks are coming to grips on what is rapidly becoming a lost season while the sputtering Edmonton Oilers know that feeling all too well. With losses in back-to-back contests and 14 of its last 21 overall, Vancouver vies to continue its dominance of Edmonton on Friday when the Pacific Division rivals meet at Rexall Place for the first time this season.
"It would have been tougher if it would have been a Stanley Cup contender going through this," captain Henrik Sedin said after he scored in his team's lone goal in a 3-1 setback to Colorado on Wednesday. "We know where we are. It's tough to win games in this league. We are trying to understand that and get better." Edmonton's reason for optimism rests with Connor McDavid, who notched a pair of assists in Wednesday's 6-4 victory over St. Louis to increase his point total to 26 (nine goals, 17 assists) in 23 games since returning from a broken clavicle. The top overall pick of the 2015 draft, McDavid set up a goal in the Oilers' 2-1 overtime triumph over the Canucks on Oct. 18.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, RSNP (Vancouver), RSW (Edmonton), NHL.TV.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (27-30-12): Staring at a double-digit point deficit for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, Vancouver also saw a glimpse of its future on Wednesday as rookie defenseman Nikita Tryamkin recorded his first career point with an assist in his NHL debut. "There was a lot of pressure, but I'm very excited to be part of the team," the 21-year-old Russian told the team's website through an interpreter. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been confirmed to get the start on Friday despite permitting five goals in three of his last six outings.
ABOUT THE OILERS (28-38-7): After going 1-for-32 on the power play during their previous 14 games, Edmonton erupted with four man-advantage tallies in the victory over the Blues. "I thought the power play had an all-time high, as far as urgency went, and it outworked the penalty kill. Simple as that," coach Todd McLellan told the team's website. "We weren't cute, we weren't fancy, we shot, we got the puck back, we scored on rebounds. Nothing fancy about it." Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice with the man advantage for his first goals since Dec. 14 and first points since Jan. 18.
OVERTIME
1. Edmonton C Mark Letestu collected two goals and an assist on Wednesday and had one of each in two meetings with Vancouver this season.
2. The Canucks are 0-for-17 on the power play in the last five games.
3. Vancouver is 6-0-1 in its last seven meetings with Edmonton.