The Vancouver Canucks hit the road for a one-and-done road trip as they face their division rival Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
It was a 3-2 victory for the Canucks this past Saturday when the two teams last met. Quinn Hughes picked up a pair of power play goals while Danton Heinen chipped in with his sixth goal of the season.
Hughes is now up to 12 goals on the season and is scoring more goals and putting up more points than he has throughout his seven-year career. Hughes is averaging 0.68 goals per 60 minutes while notching 2.87 points per 60 minutes.
The Canucks’ captain is also shooting the puck more often this season than he ever has in his career. Last season was Hughes’ best for shots on net, averaging 5.9 shots/60 and this season he is averaging 7.1 shots on net per 60 minutes.
He is getting more pucks on net than ever before and is also having a career-high for generating scoring chances with 5.3 scoring chances per 60 minutes.
Connor McDavid and Tyler Myers were given three-game suspensions for their acts at the conclusion of Saturday’s game. Both players will be absent from their team’s lineup on Thursday.
Mark Friedman filled in for Myers in their Tuesday night game and played 15:01 in his fourth game at the NHL level this season. Friedman played 10:07 with Hughes, 2:16 with Derek Forbort, and 2:05 with Carson Soucy.
Quick Hits on the Competition
- Leon Draisaitl leads the NHL with 34 goals this season and is second in the league with 71 points. Draisaitl has scored 26 of his goals at even-strength and has eight goals on the man-advantage this season. He is on a seven-game point streak and has 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points over his last 22 games.
- After McDavid and Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard is the next leading point getter for the Oilers. The right-shot defenceman has eight goals and 35 points through 47 games played this season. Bouchard leads the Oilers in ice time and is averaging 23:32 per game.
- The Oilers are 17-4-3 when scoring the first goal of the game and are 10-3-1 when scoring first on home ice. They are 12-11-0 when the opposing team scores the first goal of the game.
- Through 24 home games, the Oilers have been outscored in their first and third periods but have shined in the second periods on home ice, outscoring their opposition 34-21. The Oilers lead the league with 65 goals in second periods this season.
- The Oilers have lost their last two games and have not lost three games in a row since their opening trio of games to start the season.
The Story: Unlocking a Winning Attitude
Head coach Rick Tocchet showed some emotion on Wednesday following his team’s practice.
Tocchet said Tuesday night’s game was one of the most disappointing games since he’s been the coach of the Canucks. He let the team know that on Wednesday morning and is now waiting to see how they react.
“Shots were 18-11, I thought we were coming. All of a sudden, 8-9 minutes later, it flipped. And why is that? Because we stopped skating. Guys started doing fancy plays. Body language came back for whatever reason. You just can't do that. Winners don't do that,” said Tocchet.
“You don't slam gates. We're up two to one. Somebody misses an empty net. Okay, who cares? Why slam the gate? This is stuff I've been preaching since I've been here, and every once in a while, it creeps in – the frustration. I don't know if it's because of the noise or not. I don't know, but we have to stop that stuff.”
The coach added that he thought Wednesday was a really good practice for the group and is hopeful that their work on Wednesday will translate into Thursday’s game.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Quinn Hughes: 4g-2a-6p
Brock Boeser: 1g-2a-3p
Tyler Myers: 0g-3a-3p
J.T. Miller: 0g-3a-3p
Phil Di Giuseppe: 1g-1a-2p
Elias Pettersson: 1g-1a-2p
When and Where to Watch
Thursday’s game is a 6:00 p.m. PT start, and you can watch it on Sportsnet or listen along to the radio call with Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.