The Oilers, who will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 10th consecutive season, are playing their final game at the arena before ending the 2015-16 season at the Canucks on Saturday.
The Oilers have played at Rexall Place, originally known as Northlands Coliseum, since 1974 when they were in the World Hockey Association.
The Oilers are moving into a new downtown arena, Rogers Place, starting next season.
"I think it's going to be very similar to my first game here," Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "I have a lot of memories from that game. It'll probably stick out as the most important game so far for me in this building. Tonight is going to be right up there, and hopefully it'll be a lot of fun."
More than 150 Oilers alums will be in attendance at the game, including Hockey Hall of Fame members Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson and Grant Fuhr.
"It's going to be a fun night," Oilers left wing Taylor Hall said. "More importantly we're looking to get the win, get back on track and end the season on a good note."
The Oilers are on a three-game losing streak (0-3-0) and have lost five of their past six games (1-5-0).
Neither team had a morning skate Wednesday.
"We've washed and cleansed the poor effort against Calgary," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said of the Oilers' 5-0 loss to the Flames on Saturday. "I believe we're going to play hard. Will it guarantee us a win? I don't know but I believe we will play hard."
The Canucks, who also will miss the playoffs, are on a three-game winning streak.
Goaltender Cam Talbot will get the start for the Oilers. Ryan Miller will start for the Canucks.
Here are the projected lineups:
CANUCKS
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Jannik Hansen
Derek Dorsett - Bo Horvat - Emerson Etem
Jared McCann - Markus Granlund - Jake Virtanen
Andrey Pedan - Brendan Gaunce - Alexandre Burrows
Dan Hamhuis - Chris Tanev
Ben Hutton - Nikita Tryamkin
Matt Bartkowski - Alex Biega
Ryan Miller
Jacob Markstrom
Injured: Sven Baertschi (lower body), Chris Higgins (lower body), Linden Vey (upper body), Radim Vrbata (lower body), Christopher Tanev (upper body), Luca Sbisa (upper body), Brandon Sutter (broken jaw), Alexander Edler (fractured tibia)
Scratched: Yannick Weber, Derek Dorsett
OILERS
Pat Maroon - Connor McDavid - Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall - Leon Draisaitl - Nail Yakupov
Lauri Korpikoski - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Iiro Pakarinen
Matt Hendricks - Mark Letestu - Zack Kassian
Andrej Sekera - Mark Fayne
Jordan Oesterle - Griffin Reinhart
Darnell Nurse - Adam Pardy
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
Status report:Dorsett could play Wednesday. He missed practice Tuesday to be with his wife for the birth of their son. Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said Dorsett will join the team in Edmonton. … The start time of the game was moved up three hours to accommodate the closing ceremony for Rexall Place, which is expected to last 90 minutes.
Who's hot: McDavid has two goals and nine assists in his past 11 games. … Hansen has two goals and three assists in his past three games. … Horvat has two goals and two assists in his past three games.
