The Edmonton Oilers head to Vancouver as they try to extend their Pacific Division win streak to five games against the Canucks.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet West or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin at 7:30 p.m. MT, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

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OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game at VAN
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Philip Broberg
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BY THE NUMBERS
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Stats Comparison
Game Notes
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VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Saturday's game on Sportsnet and CBC at 8:00 p.m. MT.

PRE-GAME REPORT

VANCOUVER, BC - Tonight is a matchup of two teams headed in different directions.
The Canucks have lost nine of their last 11, while the Oilers are winners of their last five games.
As Edmonton looks to continue their run of strong play on Saturday against the Vancouver, their focus is less on the team that currently ranks 27th in the NHL and more on their own game.
"I look at the standings every day. We're in fourth place in the Pacific. It's a very tight division, but one where points are at a premium and it feels like teams win every night," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Our focus lies on what's immediately within our control and that's our preparation. That's our attention to detail. That's our level of execution tonight. When two points are up for grabs, that's what the Edmonton Oilers are here to do tonight, is to come in and play our best game because we know the Vancouver Canucks are going to play their best."
While the Oilers do currently sit fourth in the Pacific Division, a win over the Canucks could bring them within a single point of the Division lead, barring the rest of Saturday's results.
Vancouver will still pose a strong challenge on the evening. The Canucks offence has been humming along this season and they currently have five players with at least 40 points on the season in Elias Pettersson (53), Bo Horvat (49), Andrei Kuzmenko (40), J.T. Miller (40), and Quinn Hughes (40).
"I think they have some really good players, dangerous players that can make you pay if you're sloppy or undisciplined," Woodcroft said. "I think there's always been a rivalry between and the Oilers and the Canucks, and our focus is on making sure we play our best game, put our best forward foot forward tonight because we expect theirs."

WELL OILED MACHINE

To limit the deadly Canucks offence, the Oilers will need to fall back on the strong defensive structure they've exhibited as of late. The team has allowed three of fewer goals in seven of their last eight contests, with the only blip coming against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 9.
The Oilers head coach attributes the success to getting some familiar names back in the lineup, but also the work the players have put in over the last month.
"I think first and foremost is that the team has gotten back to full, or what is closest to full health that we've been in a long time. After the game in Tampa Bay (on Nov. 8), there were some major injuries over a stretch and we were doing what we needed to do in order to find points while were banged up," Woodcroft said. "Since Evander Kane has come back into the lineup, I think what it does is it slots people in the correct position, so to speak, allows us to move people around the lineup. In the end, I think why we are trending in the way that you mentioned."
"I think it comes down to our players I think it comes down to our players work ethic and execution, and you can really see them finding different ways to win hockey games," he added. "The biggest thing is there's a maturity to our group and that's pleasing for a coach to see."
Edmonton has shown they are a second half team over the last few seasons. In the last three years, their second half point percentage has been anywhere from .71 to .122 per cent higher in the final 41 games. The team is hoping to reap the benefits of an adversity and lesson filled first half as they hope to replicate last season's post-season push and success.
"I think the noise around our team is that we were just going to pick up where we left off in the third round of the playoffs. I don't think internally, any of us thought that certainly. Adversity is no fun to go through, but it's okay when it's not always a smooth sale," Woodcroft said. "I think what happens is you find new ways to get points or to find wins. I think adversity at times bonds the group together. You learn what it takes to get through sticky circumstances. And we've had our fair share in the first half, but we found some players here and I like the way our team is playing hard for each other."

YOUNG AND THE VETERANS

Since the calendar turned over to 2023, the Oilers have deployed an 11-and-7 formation in seven of their nine games. They are 0-2 when using six defenders and have allowed 11 goals in their two games, compared to 6-0-1 with 16 goals conceded while using seven D-men.
With an extra defender in the lineup, the Oilers have been relying on some young players stepping up including Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, Vincent Desharnais, and Markus Niemelainen.
Broberg has been especially good with three assists and a plus-11 rating since Jan. 5.
"I think we all have been playing really good hockey so far, and I think as a team, we've taken a step here lately, so we got a continuing building on that," Broberg said about the young defenders.
While the youngsters have been showing they belong in the NHL, they have been able to rely on veterans like Tyson Barrie, Darnell Nurse, and Brett Kulak to help demonstrate what it takes to stay in the league for a long time.
"They're great players and good mentors off the ice too," Broberg said. "If you need to talk to somebody, they're always there. It's been great for us, and we have a great group of guys in here."
Barrie was singled out by the Oilers coach after morning skate for his contributions both on and off the ice. The 31-year-old leads all Edmonton blueliners with 32 points (5G, 27A) in 47 games this season and is well known for being a vocal 'glue guy' in the locker room.
"I think Tyson has a big voice in our locker room and he carries a lot of weight, so it's important that he plays well. I think coming up last February, I thought he gave us really good minutes. I think he doesn't get enough credit for playing the game well defensively, which he's done for our coaching staff here," Woodcroft said about the blueline's elder statesman. "I think he's one of the best power play quarterbacks in the National Hockey League. He's found a chemistry with our top players in the that regard, but he doesn't get enough credit when he's at the top of his game defensively. We're going to need that, and we're going to need it as we work through these games, as we work from now until game 83."
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com

PREVIEW

OILERS vs. CANUCKS
STREAM: 8:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet and CBC
Oilers Team Scope
The Oilers head to Vancouver riding the highs of a five-game winning streak.
They extended that streak on Thursday when they took down the defending three-time Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning by a 5-3 score at Rogers Place. The contest was a rough and tumble affair, with two contending teams pushing each other to the limit.
The Oilers showed they won't get pushed around by any team, with three fights in the contest and the Oilers lethal power play making the Lightning pay in the first period courtesy of a Leon Draisaitl one-timer for his 27th of the season.
Zach Hyman scored twice in the victory, once on a sharp angle rebound he was able to raise over a sprawling Andrei Vasilevskiy and another into the empty net to seal the victory.
The Oilers jumped out to both a 2-0 and a 3-1 lead in the contest but the Lightning were able to battle back before the end of the second period, leading to a 3-3 deadlock heading into the final frame. Connor McDavid continued his sensational season with his 39th goal of the year, notching the game winner in his usual sensational style.
The Captain blitzed the Tampa Goal with speed before jamming the puck past Vasilevskiy for the 4-3 marker.

Jack Campbell won his sixth-straight start, stopping 28 of 31 Tampa opportunities. The 31-year-old has also had an above .900 save percentage in all of those starts as he continues to rediscover the form that made him an NHL All-Star back in 2022.
Now, the Oilers turn their eyes to a divisional opponent that took two points from them at home back on the Dec. 23.
"The points versus the Lightning are the equal amount of points that are up for grabs tomorrow night against Vancouver Canucks," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "The Vancouver Canucks have played us very difficult this year. I think they have a lot of skill in their lineup that presents a lot of matchup problems and issues, and they're proud team and proud people over there that are going to want to win that game. So if we give anything less than 100 per cent and if we don't have 20 people pulling on the same rope, we're going to find it difficult to win."
Canucks Team Scope
Edmonton will be looking for redemption on Saturday night against the Pacific coast club.
The last time the Canucks and Oilers got together, Vancouver managed to take the two points in a 5-2 victory at Rogers Place back on Dec. 23. Edmonton had jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one, courtesy of goals by Derek Ryan and Connor McDavid. Despite the early advantage, Vancouver was able to battle back throughout the contest while goaltender Collin Delia was outstanding in shutting the door for the remainder of the game. The 28-year-old stopper 31 of 33 Oilers shots, including several high-danger chances to help steal the win for the now 27th ranked Canucks.
Bo Horvat, who was recently named the Pacific Divisions third voted in All-Star alongside Leon Draisaitl and Stuart Skinner, did most of the damage for the Canucks. The 30-goal-man recorded four points (2G, 2A) on the evening, while J.T. Miller scored twice and Ilya Mikheyev notched the final goal.
"I mean, that's the question, right? That's the question of the game," Connor McDavid said about coughing up the 2-0. "We had a good start that we wanted and we cough it up. Obviously not the second period we wanted, but we still had a chance and have to find a way to win that game. There's just no way around it."
The Canucks will be playing the second game of a back-to-back after a 4-1 loss on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Elias Petterson scored the Canucks lone goal, while Colorado had a pair of power-play goals in the victory. Collin Delia made 26 saves in the loss, while his goaltending counterpart in Alexandar Georgiev stopped 28 of 29 Canucks shots for his 18th win of the season.

By The Numbers
Entering Friday's action, the Canucks had the ninth best goals per game at 3.36 goals a contest... However, Vancouver is second last in the NHL in goals allowed per game... The Canucks are also dead last in the league in both team save percentage and penalty-kill percentage... Vancouver's 66.9 per cent penalty kill is on pace to be the worst in NHL history since they started tracking the statistic back in 1977-78... The Canucks have lost their last four home games against the Oilers, sporting a 0-3-1 record while getting outscored 14-7 in that stretch...
Quinn Hughes scored a power-play goal back on Jan. 18 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was his first PPG in 1,111 days... The Canucks defenceman recorded 77 power-play assists between Wednesday's goal and his previous power-play goal, which is an NHL record... Elias Petterson's 22 third-period points are the third most in the NHL, trailing only Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov...
The Oilers have outscored the competition 27-11 in their five-game win streak and now sit three points outside the division lead... Edmonton has the fourth best goal differential against the Western Conference this season with a plus-21 mark... Head Coach Jay Woodcroft's 52 wins through 85 games are the most by any Oilers coach in franchise history over that stretch... The Oilers point percentage is .134 per cent better with Evander Kane in the lineup since the start of the 2021-22 season... Edmonton is 15-3-0 this season when McDavid and Draisaitl score a goal this season...

Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR; Mike Smith (undisclosed) is on IR;
Ryan Murray 
(undisclosed) is on IR;
Kailer Yamamoto 
(undisclosed) is on IR.
CANUCKS - Tucker Poolman (undisclosed) is on IR; Thatcher Demko (lower-body) is on IR; Tanner Pearson (hand) is on IR.
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com