Oilers at Canucks preview
Edmonton is 2-5-1 in past eight games; Edler returns from upper-body injury for Vancouver
by Kevin Woodley / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
OILERS (20-15-4) at CANUCKS (18-15-4)
10 p.m. ET; SNP, SNW, NHL.TV
The Game
Alexander Edler will return after missing the past 10 games with an upper-body injury when the Vancouver Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena on Monday.
The Canucks, who defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Saturday, will try to win three straight games for the first time in more than two months. Vancouver has not won three consecutive games since winning four in a row from Oct. 9 -17.
Goalie Jacob Markstrom makes his eighth straight start for the Canucks. He is 3-4-0 in the previous seven with a .923 save percentage and 2.65 goals-against average.
The Oilers ended a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and are 2-5-1 in the past eight games.
Players to watch
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past seven games.
Canucks forward Brock Boeser has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games.
They said it
"It's a good mindset to have that you can kind of empty the tank and go into the holiday and know you're going to be coming back to positive attitudes and good energy." -- Oilers forward Riley Sheahan, who has scored in consecutive games
"We all know how good they are and how important they are for that team so whoever is out against them, try to take away time and space, try to make them earn everything." -- Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler on playing against Oilers forwards Connor McDavid (61 points) and Leon Draisaitl (60 points), who are first and second in NHL scoring
Oilers projected lineup
Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
James Neal -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Alex Chiasson
Markus Granlund -- Gaetan Haas -- Patrick Russell
Joakim Nygard -- Riley Sheahan -- Josh Archibald
Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse -- Ethan Bear
Kris Russell -- Caleb Jones
Mikko Koskinen
Mike Smith
Scratched: Brandon Manning, Sam Gagner, Jujhar Khaira
Injured: Matt Benning (head)
Canucks projected lineup
J.T. Miller -- Elias Pettersson -- Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson -- Bo Horvat -- Loui Eriksson
Antoine Roussel -- Adam Gaudette -- Jake Virtanen
Tyler Motte -- Jay Beagle -- Tim Schaller
Quinn Hughes -- Christopher Tanev
Alexander Edler -- Troy Stecher
Oscar Fantenberg -- Tyler Myers
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Zack MacEwen, Jordie Benn
Injured: Josh Leivo (fractured kneecap), Brandon Sutter (upper body), Thatcher Demko (concussion), Micheal Ferland (upper body), Tyler Graovac (lower body)
Status report
Edmonton, which is 2-1-0 against the Canucks this season, will dress the same lineup that defeated Montreal. … Benn is a healthy scratch for the first time since signing a two-year, $4-million contract as a free agent on July 1. … Coach Travis Green said Demko, who resumed skating Saturday, could back up Markstrom against the Oilers depending on how he felt after the morning skate. ... Vancouver loaned defenseman Jalen Chatfield to Utica of the American Hockey League on Monday.
Stat pack
Kassian has four points (two goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak and seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past seven games. … Pettersson has three goals and one assist in his past two games.