GDR #40 – Oilers @ Canucks

 

(September 18, 2009 – Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images North America)

Game Day Recon #40 – Oilers @ Canucks

The Canucks face the perennial powerhouse Detroit Red Wings tomorrow on Hockey Night in Canada. Tonight they face the last-place Edmonton Oilers.

Do you think they might possibly be looking past this game? Maybe just a little?

Game Time: 7:00 PM PT

TV: RSN-PAC Radio: Team1040

You can’t fault the Canucks for wanting to look past the Oilers when they face the Red Wings tomorrow night. The Canucks have beaten the Oilers 3 times in 3 chances this year. The Canucks play the Red Wings on the grand stage of Hockey Night in Canada tomorrow night. And the Red Wings provide a much stiffer challenge to the Canucks than do the Oilers.

These are the types of games that have killed the Canucks in the past. This year, Vancouver has done pretty well as slugging out games against the lesser lights in the league and coming away with victories, even if they are less than convincing ones o nthe scoresheet. And that can certainly be the case for all three of the Canucks/Oilers games this season. All three games have seen the Canucks win by one goal. That scoreline is certainly not indicative of the play or flow of the games, especially in the last two games. But it does show that the Oilers can get their asses handed to them as far as the play of the game is concerned, as STILL hang around and squeak out a point here and there. So the Canucks have to be wary of that tonight. The Oilers have a way of hanging around in games, even if they ultimately seal their own fate with sloppy play late in games.

The Oilers will play the Canucks without three key players tonight, as Jordan Eberle, Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Whitney are all out with injuries, and may liikely be without Jim Vandermeer as well. Those are pretty big holes to fill and may prove to be too much for the Oilers to overcome.

Here are the three keys for the Vancouver Canucks tonight:

1. Play up to your game, not down to theirs. Same advice when they played the Flames.

2. Smack around the little guys. Goad them in to taking penalties.

3. Bury these guys once and for all. The Canucks have won all three games against the Oilers by one goal this year. It’s time to take the Oilers to the woodshed on the scoresheet.

Here are your top 5 links for today’s game:

1. Tale of the Tape: Oilers @ Canucks (canucks.com)

2. Luongo has tongues wagging…again (The Province)

3. Canucks tearing it up (TSN.ca)

4. Oilers hope 8 is too much for Canucks (CBC Sports)

5. GDB 39.0: Sexy Russian Sequels? (Oilers Nation) >> SEE WHAT THE ENEMY HAS TO SAY!