PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Canucks

The Edmonton Oilers continue their four-game homestand at Rogers Place on Saturday with a visit from the Vancouver Canucks.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Canucks

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers look to respond to Thursday's defeat to the Anaheim Ducks against another Pacific Division rival in the Vancouver Canucks on Hockey Fights Cancer Night at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Thursday's 5-4 loss to open a four-game homestand was Connor McDavid record a goal & three assists to extend his assist/point streaks to 17 games, while Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all pitched in with multiple points, but six minor penalties and four unanswered goals from the Ducks were enough to preserve the win despite some late goals from the Oilers.

Forward Vasily Podkolzin was ejected early with a game misconduct after defending his captain from being cross-checked into the Anaheim net by Drew Helleson, prompting the Russian's reaction and taking two-, five-, and 10-minute penalties to leave the Oilers down to 11 forwards for the rest of the night.

Kasperi Kapanen's power-play goal and Draisaitl's tally at six-on-five with 35 seconds left in regulation made it 5-4 with a few minutes left, but the Oilers couldn't find another with their net empty to force overtime.

They'll try to get back to winning ways and improve on their 11-3-3 start against a Vancouver team that's lost four straight and sits bottom of the NHL's Western Conference with a 3-14-1 record, their worst 18-game start in franchise history.

The Canucks were beaten 6-2 by the Jets for their fifth game allowing at least six goals in a game this season, being outscored 27-14 by their opponents in the first period while the Oilers are outscoring opponents 21-8 in the opening frame. The Oilers are averaging an NHL-best 4.12 goals per game, while the Canucks are on the opposite end with a league-worst 4.61 goals against per game.

The two teams combined for 27 goals over their first two games of their season series: a 6-5 overtime win for the Canucks on opening night and a 9-7 win for the Oilers two nights later on Oct. 1 in Vancouver.