EDMONTON, AB - With belief in the Oilers dressing room at a high point thanks to a three-game win streak and a successful road trip, a four-game home stand for the Oilers begins tonight with a visit from divisional rivals the Vancouver Canucks.
"We've said that from day one, it's always been high," Zack Kassian said following Thursday's morning skate. "We've had a lot of ups and downs this year, but we haven't quit on each other and we need to keep fighting until the end. Tonight is a good opportunity against a divisional team to get two points and move a couple of points closer to the playoffs."
The Oilers are sat on 65 points, seven back of the Minnesota Wild and the Western Conference's final Wildcard spot with a game in hand. Of the 16 regular-season games remaining for the club, 10 are at home where the Oilers at 14-15-2 this campaign - the third-worst home record in the NHL.
"We said it with the last 20 games or so. It might not be the playoffs, but it's our playoffs," Kassian continued. "We need to win these games to get in and be good at home, especially. We haven't been very good this year at home and we have a chance here to redeem ourselves."
The Canucks arrive in Edmonton having already taken the season series with two wins in the previous three meetings, allowing only two goals at even strength against the Oilers. Tonight is their second game of a back-to-back after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs last night 3-2 in overtime.
"They check so hard and they work so hard," Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. "They never really give up odd-man rushes and that's kind of their bread and butter. They have a good power play, they have a couple of key guys that contribute offensively, but they're so solid defensively that they can hold on to leads."
Head Coach Ken Hitchcock has emphasized beginning strong play with solid checking, and Vancouver has been able to deploy much of the same tactic against his side in previous meetings.
"We can't seem to penetrate their checking 5-on-5, and we feel like we've had some scoring chances but haven't finished," Hitchcock said. "I think it puts pressure on other elements of your game when you're not scoring 5-on-5. They play a very patient game against us and we can't seem to penetrate and create extended offensive zone time. We show flashes of it, but we're not consistent enough in creating 5-on-5."
Mikko Koskinen makes his 38th start of the season tonight and is 5-1-2 with a .932 save percentage in his last eight starts. Forward Jujhar Khaira is a game-time decision after missing the previous road trip and 10 games total with a lower-body injury.
