GDB 10.0: Oilers look to rebound against struggling Canucks (8 PM MT, SNW)

Edmonton Oilers Vancouver Canucks Leon Draisaitl Conor Garland

Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Oct 26, 2025, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 26, 2025, 13:05 EDT

It’s Nation Vacation weekend in Vancouver, and that means we’ve got a crew of Nation Citizens with boots on the ground for a few days of shenanigans, memories, and hopefully a win to cap off the adventure. Both teams come into this one hovering around .500, with the Oilers sitting at 4-4-1 and the Canucks at 4-5-0, so there’s not much separating them in the standings early on.

Whether you’ve been on one of these trips before or have always wondered what it’s like to join us, there’s something special about hitting the road with people who love this team as much as you do. Between the travel, the laughs, and the shared mission of cheering on the Oilers behind enemy lines, it always ends up being a trip to remember, and the hockey almost ends up being a secondary plot point.

Of course, the main event for our trip to Vancouver is tonight’s matchup at Rogers Arena. Despite the struggles both sides are having, I’m expecting this to be a beauty. Oilers vs. Canucks games always bring a little something extra since Edmonton knocked Vancouver out of the playoffs two years ago, and I’m expecting much of the same in round two of four of the season series. The first meeting went Edmonton’s way with a 3–1 win at Rogers Place, and you can bet the Canucks haven’t forgotten about it.

The only reason that game wasn’t a full-on shelling was because Thatcher Demko stood on his head and bailed Vancouver out. He’s been outstanding again this year with a .927 save percentage, masking a lot of defensive issues for a Canucks team that’s allowing just over 30 shots per night. Figuring him out will be a major key for Edmonton, whose power play continues to hum at 29.6 percent compared to Vancouver’s 16.1. The Canucks have been inconsistent through the early part of the year and, much like the Oilers, still look like a team trying to find its rhythm.

With both sides playing the second half of a back-to-back, I won’t be surprised if we see some sloppy sequences and extra chances at both ends before everyone settles in. The Oilers lost in Seattle last night while the Canucks dropped one to Montreal, so it’ll be interesting to see who’s got more left in the tank and who can start fast. Edmonton’s averaging 29.1 shots per game while giving up only 23.4, and that kind of shot share should eventually start paying off if they can clean up the turnovers.

For our boys, this is a winnable game as long as they remember which colour jersey they’re wearing. Turnovers continue to haunt them, and it’s a problem that will keep driving us all nuts until they figure it out. Nine games in, we still have more questions than answers. For Vancouver, it’s about feeding off the home crowd, evening the season series, and snapping their three-game losing streak.

No matter how it plays out, it’s going to be a blast for everyone who made the trip and for those watching at home. Seeing the Oilers play on the road surrounded by fans who have travelled across the country is an experience you can’t replicate anywhere else. Here’s hoping the Oilers make it two straight against the Canucks and cap off another Nation Vacation with a few post-game cocktails and plenty to talk about on the flight home.

Let’s see what the numbers say…

THE NUMBERS

	OILERS	CANUCKS
RECORD	4-4-1	4-5-0
WIN/LOSS STREAK	L1	L3
GOALS FOR	26	25
GOALS AGAINST	28	28
POWER PLAY%	29.6	16.1
PENALTY KILL%	83.3	73.5
GOALS FOR/GAME	2.89	2.67
GOALS AGAINST/GAME	3.00	3.11
AVG. SHOTS/FOR	29.1	25.4
AVG. SHOTS/AGAINST	23.4	30.1
TEAM SAVE%	.894	.932
CORSI FOR%	49.50	45.31
PDO	0.962	1.039
TEAM SHOOTING%	6.90	10.69
EXPECTED GOALS FOR%	49.57	45.55

Numbers courtesy of Natural Stat Trick (Sv%, CF%, PDO, Shooting%, xGF% all at 5×5)

Standings watching already? The Oilers are sitting fourth in the Pacific Division behind Vegas, Seattle, and Anaheim. We’ll be doing banner watch all season, people.

LINEUPS…

Oilers

Howard – McDavid – Mangiapane
Savoie – Draisaitl – Podkolzin
Henrique – Nugent-Hopkins – Roslovic
Tomasek – Philp – Frederic

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Walman
Kulak – Emberson

Pickard

Is there even a point in putting in the line combos anymore? No matter what I have listed above before the game starts, Kris Knoblauch will probably make changes within a shift or two. I don’t know what’s going on with the blender being maxed out right now, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that the constant shuffling isn’t part of our scoring woes.

Canucks

DeBrusk – Pettersson – Garland
Kane – Reichel – Boeser
O’Connor – Raty – Sherwood
Bains – Sassoon – Karlsson

Hughes – Hronek
M. Pettersson – Myers
Other Elias Pettersson – Joseph

Demko

Elias Pettersson (the first one) picked up three points in yesterday’s 4-3 loss to the Canadiens, and that has a lot of Canucks fans hoping he’s back to being the 100-point guy he was three seasons ago. While only time will tell if that’s the case, the Oilers will need be mindful of where he’s at on the ice, especially if his scoring touch is starting to come back. ›

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…

From Canucksarmy.com:From Canucksarmy.com:

Vancouver’s 4-3 loss on home(?) ice to the Montreal Canadiens was far from the Canucks’ worst game of the season. They actually played some of their best hockey of the year in the first half of the game, fending off the highest scoring team in the NHL with aggressive forechecking, smart defence and some timely goaltending.
Heck, this game was even great in some ways. Elias Pettersson, snake bitten all season, turned in a classic three-point performance, carrying the Canucks on his shoulders just like the good old days! But when a few of his teammates made key mistakes and the wheels started coming off in the third, the momentum bus happened to be driving right towards Le Grand Canyon. And off they went.
After the road trip the Canucks had, this game can very well be looked at as a net positive from the scoring perspective. But any time you allow four unanswered goals and blow a 2-0 lead, someone’s gonna take part of the blame.
The Canadiens didn’t bring their A-game, but they made their opportunities count, especially on the power play. Kevin Lankinen allowed a subpar goal or two, D-Petey and P-O Joseph were drowning trying to keep up with the speedy Habs, and Evander Kane continued to be Evander Kane. It was death by a thousand paper cuts, and no amount of star player bandages could cover them all.