Next up for the Edmonton Oilers is a quick trip to Vancouver, and I’m not interested in nuance, sympathy, or “anything can happen in hockey” when it comes to tonight’s game. The Canucks are an absolute mess right now, and this is a night where the Oilers should walk into Rogers Arena and make them live in their misery for another 24 hours. No mercy. No excuses. No playing down to anyone. The mission here is to kick a team while they’re down. Simple as that.

Vancouver is dead last in the NHL, and they seem to be doing everything they can to lock down that spot. They’re 32nd by six full points, winless in 2026, and coming off an East Coast road trip where they lost all six games in regulation by a combined score of 31–9. The Canucks’ last win was on December 29th, they have one win in their last 14 games, and have gone nine straight games on their schedule without a victory. Every stat you look at just keeps throwing dirt on the grave. If you’re a Canucks fan, you’re probably hate-watching at this point, or cheering for the McKenna lottery.

Of course, Oilers fans have seen this movie before. Bad opponent with horrible vibes, and the backup goalie getting the start? Schedule loss potential. For the Oilers, this is their fourth game in six nights across three different time zones. When you smash these ingredients together, the boys can’t mess around and make their lives harder than it needs to be. If they play their game and stick to their systems, they should win, but there are also no guarantees in professional sports. This is an opportunity to do what good teams do and step on a throat instead of extending a lifeline, but Vancouver isn’t going to roll over and show their tummies either.

The numbers are ugly for Vancouver, and they don’t get better the deeper you dig. Over their last ten games, the Canucks have a 34.2 percent goal share at five-on-five, which is somehow not the worst in the league only because Anaheim has completely fallen apart. Over the full season, Vancouver sits near the bottom in both Corsi and expected goals, owns a minus-24 goal differential at five-on-five (-44 overall), and gives up more shots than they can produce. Edmonton, meanwhile, is hovering around break-even in shot share but tilts the ice in expected goals at 51.22 percent, scores more at 3.31 goals per game, and has the far more dangerous offence when things are going our way.

Special teams? It’s not even close. Edmonton’s power play is running at a stupid 33.3 percent, while Vancouver’s penalty kill is down at 72.1 and leaking confidence by the minute. If the history between these teams turns the game into a shit show, any parade to the penalty box would be an easy advantage for Edmonton. Looking just at the numbers, the Oilers are better at scoring, suppressing shots, and punishing mistakes. This is not a fair fight on paper. But as we know, what happens on the scoresheet doesn’t always match what the spreadsheets suggest.

Looking at the season series, this is the third meeting between the Oilers and Canucks, and the only reason Vancouver isn’t already buried in the head-to-head is because of Thatcher Demko. He was the common denominator in both earlier games, including the overtime loss on October 26th, where the Oilers were actually lucky to leave Vancouver with a point. But as you’re probably anticipating, Demko is back in his natural habitat on the injured reserve list again. Without him, the Canucks are exposed, fragile, and hanging on by vibes alone.

With all of that in mind, the ask for the boys is simple: No easing into it. No “let’s feel it out.” No casual first period where the building gets loud because the home team smells hope. If the Oilers can get a quick start, pile some shots on net, and force their Hughes-less defence to try and make plays, then there’s no reason we should be watching our squad get back in the win column. The Canucks are already on the ropes, and one bad bounce, one early power-play goal, or a stretch where the Oilers tilt the ice could be enough to break what’s left of Vancouver’s confidence.

But as we all know, the Oilers tend to play down to their competition, and tonight is a real test to see if they can avoid that embarrassment. This isn’t about style points or being classy. It’s about recognizing when a team is broken and doing exactly what you’re supposed to do to broken teams. You don’t fix them. You don’t help them find their game. You make their lives miserable. Vancouver is bad, Edmonton is better, and this is a night to act like it. Bank the two points, pile on if the opportunity presents itself, and leave the Canucks staring at another few days of winless misery. Anything less would feel like a waste.

Let’s see what the numbers say…

Podkolzin – McDavid – Hyman
Frederic – Nugent-Hopkins – Kapanen
Howard – Roslovic – Savoie
Mangiapane – Lazar – Janmark

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Emberson
Walman – Stastney

Jarry

The Oilers played so damned well against the New York Islanders that it’s almost criminal that they weren’t able to grab at least a point out of that hockey game. That said, if the boys play as well tonight in Vancouver as they did two nights ago against the Isles, I see no reason why we shouldn’t wrap up our Saturday with two points in the bank. The job will be more difficult, though, as the Oilers announced that Leon Draisaitl will be taking a leave of absence to attend to a personal situation in Germany.

DeBrusk – Pettersson – Karlsson
O’Connor – Sasson – Boeser
Ohgren – Kampf – Garland
Bains – Raty – Kane

Buium – Myers
Pettersson – Hronek
Willander – Mancini

Lakinen

I’ve said it a bunch of times already in this preview, but the Canucks stink. They’re so bad right now that it’s almost amazing this is the same franchise that the Oilers met in Round 2 of the playoffs only two years ago. Their best players are mostly gone, their star goalie is hurt, and if ever there was an opportunity for the Oilers to flex on an opponent a little bit, it has to be tonight at Rogers Arena.

Game Day Prediction: Oilers get back into the win column thanks to a decisive 5-2 win over the Canucks.

Obvious Game Day Prediction: Connor McDavid doesn’t like being held pointless. It won’t happen again… at least, not today.

Not-So-Obvious Game Day Prediction: You would have never seen this two-goal game by Trent Frederic coming unless you read it here first. Alright, so maybe I’m trying to manifest some success for the guy. So what?