Burrows, who averaged almost 30 goals during four seasons playing with the Sedins through 2011-12, has one more season left on his contract. But with the Canucks pushing to get younger and faster, and a 35th birthday to celebrate on Monday, Burrows realizes he might not be around to as the rebuild continues in Vancouver.
Burrows, who has nine goals and 13 assists in 78 games as a bottom-six forward this season, insisted his focus is on finishing a "frustrating, disappointing" season on a positive note.
"It's a little tougher than usual," said Burrows, who is looking forward to playing with the Sedins again. "It's fun to be back with them; they have been a big part of my career."
Canucks forward Michael Zalewski is on the second line after being called up from Utica of the American Hockey League on Friday.
"We don't want injuries, but they have made us better for the future," coach Willie Desjardins said regarding Zalewski's opportunity. "Lots of guys are better because of it."
Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse is expected to play after leaving the game against Vancouver on Wednesday after taking a puck to the throat. The Oilers are trying to build on their win over the Canucks, which ended a three-game losing streak.
Edmonton has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs 10 straight seasons but can avoid finishing last in the NHL this season with another win against Vancouver. The Oilers are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs with 69 points, but have the non-shootout wins tiebreaker.
"Last game, and a game that statistically may not mean anything but it means a lot to our group; I believe that," coach Todd McLellan said. "We have a chance to end up not in the basement, which is I think really important for us to go after."
Here are the projected lineups:
OILERS
Pat Maroon - Connor McDavid - Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Iiro Pakarinen
Lauri Korpikoski - Leon Draisaitl - Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks - Mark Letestu - Zack Kassian
Andrej Sekera - Mark Fayne
Darnell Nurse - Adam Pardy
Jordan Oesterle - Griffin Reinhart
Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit
Injured: Oscar Klefbom (foot), Andrew Ference (hip), Brandon Davidson (knee), Benoit Pouliot (shoulder), Eric Gryba (knee)
Scratched: Luke Gazdic, Adam Cracknell, Nikita Nikitin, Adam Clendening, Anton Lander
CANUCKS
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alexandre Burrows
Michael Zalewski - Markus Granlund - Jannik Hansen
Ronalds Kenins - Brendan Gaunce - Jake Virtanen
Derek Dorsett - Bo Horvat - Emerson Etem
Dan Hamhuis - Chris Tanev
Ben Hutton - Nikita Tryamkin
Matt Bartkowski - Alex Biega
Jacob Markstrom
Ryan Miller
Injured: Jared McCann (upper body), Sven Baertschi (lower body), Chris Higgins (lower body), Linden Vey (upper body), Radim Vrbata (lower body), Luca Sbisa (upper body), Brandon Sutter (broken jaw), Alexander Edler (fractured tibia)
Scratched: Yannick Weber, Andrey Pedan
Status Report: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is from the Vancouver area, will move up to play with Hall and Pakarinen, while Draisaitl will play with Korpikoski and Yakupov.
Who's Hot: McDavid had a goal and two assists against the Canucks on Wednesday and has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in his past 10 games.
