Canucks at Oilers
Celebrations have been few and far between for the Edmonton Oilers this season but a festive atmosphere is expected on Wednesday when the cellar-dwelling club hosts the Vancouver Canucks in the final home game at Rexall Place. With the legendary Wayne Gretzky slated to be one of the 100 Oilers' alumni in attendance, the pregame fireworks could be worth the price of admission before the Pacific Division rivals face off for the first of two contests in a four-day stretch to conclude the season.
"We have a chance on Wednesday to feel good about ourselves and to finish well in this rink and give the fans something to cheer about, what they deserve," Edmonton forward Jordan Eberle told the team's website. The Oilers certainly haven't shown much of late, dropping a 5-0 setback to provincial rival Calgary on Saturday for the team's third straight loss and fifth in six outings. Vancouver has rebounded from a nine-game slide (0-8-1) to defeat each of the three Pacific heavyweights during its season-high winning streak. Ryan Miller, who turned aside 40 shots in a 3-2 triumph over Los Angeles on Monday, had won his first career 12 meetings against Edmonton before making 22 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss on Oct. 18.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSNP (Vancouver), RSW (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (30-36-13): Veteran forward Jannik Hansen is intent on keeping his foot on the gas pedal even though Vancouver's season has long since sped off course. The 30-year-old Dane has scored two goals and set up three others during the team's winning streak after being held off the scoresheet in each of the previous six contests. "You're playing for jobs, opportunities, families, lives," said Hansen, who also tallied twice in the Canucks' 2-1 overtime win over Edmonton on Dec. 26. "You can't do that to your teammates if you just check out and say, 'OK we'll see you in October.' You have to approach the games like it matters."
ABOUT THE OILERS (30-43-7): Coach Todd McLellan didn't mince words after seeing his team shut out for the third time in its last eight home games and suffer its 11th loss (3-10-1) in its last 14 at Rexall Place. "We were outshot, we were outhit, we were outscored, out-faceoffed, out-power played, out-penalty killed," McLellan said following the team's performance versus the Flames. "Forget about the wins and the losses, it's just the effort. Because that's (freaking) embarrassing." Cam Talbot was blitzed for all five goals on Saturday, but improved to 2-0-2 in his career versus Vancouver after turning aside all 40 shots he faced in a 2-0 win on March 18.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver C Bo Horvat is riding a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists), but was held off the scoresheet in all three meetings with Edmonton this season.
2. The Oilers will play their home games at Rogers Place next season.
3. The Pacific Division rivals will wrap up their five-game series in British Columbia on Saturday.