To say the Canucks got the 2025-26 season off to a good start is pretty accurate. The test gets harder as they head to Edmonton and begin a run of six of their next seven games on the road.

Vancouver Canucks (1-0-0) vs. Edmonton Oilers (0-0-1)

Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta

7:00 pm PST; 10:00 pm EST

TV: Sportsnet, CBC, CITY

Radio: Sportsnet 650

In spite of what some people may believe, that was pretty much how the game should have went Thursday night. I don't care what the Flames did last season, when you look at these teams on paper, the Canucks are better, and so no one should be surprised how that one went down.

Overall, a really solid night. The defence played well, not giving the Flames a lot to work with. And when they were able to muster some offensive chances, Thatcher Demko was there, putting in the kind of performance we expect from him. It would have been nice to see him get the shutout, but we'll take it. Strong games from all four lines, especially when you consider the 'Core Four' (Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk) were held to the Boeser goal, assisted by Petey and Jake. Having your top guys somewhat neutralized and still putting five on the board is a good sign.

Filip Chytil had a solid game, and could have finished the night with four goals if not for some dumb luck and a nice save from Dustin Wolf. Strong performances from the youngsters and a solid 60 minute effort left them full value for that opening night win.

Tonight's a tougher test, without a doubt, as they are in Edmonton to take on the Oilers. We're one game in, and already there's discussion about goaltending after a Stewart Skinner gaffe led to the Flames storming back and sending it to extra time, where they would win in the shootout. With Connor McDavid locked down for a couple more years, you'd think this team would just relax and not stress, but the anxiety level in Edmonton at the thought of their goaltending once again being their downfall is probably pretty awful. For the rest of us, we're enjoying the ever-lovin' shit outta it.

The big story tonight though is the return to Edmonton for Evander Kane. The former Oiler signed with the Canucks in the offseason, and will no doubt be fired up to have a good night against his old squad. As far as where I sit on Kane, he played well in the opener, but is far from having proven this was a smart signing by the Canucks. A big game tonight against the Oilers will go a long way towards that.

LINEUPS

Thanks as always to the ol' nhl dot com, even though I had to correct a third D pairing, because the players they listed do not actually play for the Canucks.

Canucks projected lineup

Jake DeBrusk -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser

Arshdeep Bains -- Filip Chytil -- Conor Garland

Evander Kane -- Braeden Cootes -- Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Drew O’Connor -- Aatu Ratay -- Kiefer Sherwood

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Marcus Pettersson -- Tyler Myers

Derek Forbort -- Elias Pettersson

Thatcher Demko

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: Linus Karlsson, Victor Mancini

Injured: Teddy Blueger (lower body), Guillaume Brisebois (lower body), Nils Hoglander (lower body)

Oilers projected lineup

Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Trent Frederic

Andrew Mangiapane -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Matthew Savoie

Isaac Howard -- Adam Henrique -- David Tomasek

Vasily Podkolzin -- Noah Philp -- Kasperi Kapanen

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse -- Alec Regula

Brett Kulak -- Ty Emberson

Calvin Pickard

Stuart Skinner

Scratched: Curtis Lazar, Troy Stecher

Injured: Mattias Janmark (undisclosed), Zach Hyman (wrist), Jake Walman (undisclosed)

We'll see exactly the same lineup we saw on Thursday night against the Flames, while, much like the last time the Canucks took on the Oilers in the preseason, Calvin Pickard will get the start, as Skinner has lost the coach's confidence one game into the season. You love to see it.

GAME DAY CHATTER

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

An appropriate one from Canada's king of rock n roll for ya today. Here's 'Everyday Is Saturday Night' from the one and only DANKO JONES.

Enjoy the game, folks and happy Turkey weekend if you do that. Fuck fascism. Go Canucks Go.