10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY
This feels bizarro world. I want to bottle this feeling and sell it on Ebay, Amazon and street corners. I could almost give up coffee. People could stop doing drugs altogether and just live on this feeling. Did you honestly think that opening night would have gone that well? Fuck you...you didn't.
Being fans of this team in particular, doesn't created many centrist opinions. Some are planning the parade route and others are wondering what pain awaits us tonight. McDavid and Draisaitl were embarrassed beyond belief. Outworked along the boards, outhustled to the puck and taking stupid penalties. That has been the Canucks blue print for years. You have to believe that tonight will be a completely different gameplan from the Oilers. I can picture McDavid skating the puck up, every chance he gets to try and draw penalties. Draisaitl will push his way to the net and Evander Kane will hit everything he sees.
I am sure Taco has been yelling this in practice and on the plane to Edmonton. He loved these types of games when he played. It's a game like this that we really get to see if PDG, Lafferty and Joshua can play the style of hockey Taco wants and this team needs. In the past, this team has been called many times because they didn't want to be in a physical game. They would take all the hits and not press back. Tonight I think Joshua will have to step up with the fisty-cups again and it wouldn't surprise me if Jimothy Timothy gets into some shenanigans to get his team fired up. You better believe the Oilers will be looking to hit Boeser and keep him out of the shooting zones. All the Canucks better keep their head on a swivel for Darnell Nurse, as he has a history of questionable hits against Canucks.
Game 2 of the year already looks to be a doozy. Imagine a 2-0 start for this team.....it might be what they need to actually go out and have some confidence against Eastern teams that have dominated their ass last year.
Canucks projected lineup
Andrei Kuzmenko -- Elias Pettersson -- Conor Garland
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua -- Pius Suter -- Anthony Beauvillier
Nils Hoglander -- Sam Lafferty -- Jack Studnicka
Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek
Ian Cole -- Tyler Myers
Akito Hirose -- Noah Juulsen
Casey DeSmith
Thatcher Demko
Scratched: None
Injured: Teddy Blueger (lower-body bruise), Ilya Mikheyev (ACL), Carson Soucy (undisclosed)
Oilers projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Connor McDavid -- Connor Brown
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl -- Zach Hyman
Dylan Holloway -- Ryan McLeod -- Warren Foegele
Adam Erne -- Mattias Janmark -- Derek Ryan
Darnell Nurse -- Evan Bouchard
Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci
Philip Broberg -- Mattias Ekholm
Stuart Skinner
Jack Campbell
Scratched: Vincent Desharnais
Injured: None
Status report
DeSmith will start after Demko left during the third period of a season-opening 8-1 win against the Oilers on Wednesday because of the flu. ... Studnicka will play after being recalled on an emergency basis from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League on Thursday. ... Edmonton will dress a conventional lineup after going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen Wednesday. ... Ekholm will play after missing the opener with a groin injury. ... Skinner will start after making 12 saves in relief of Campbell on Wednesday. ... Erne will make his Oilers debut after signing with them Friday. - NHL.COM
I won't ask for 8 goals....hell I won't ask for 2 goals. A 1-0 victory would make me more than happy.
Go Coconuts Go!
