Preseason Game #3 Preview: Canucks @ Oilers

Hockey Night in Canada is back! Sort of! The team plays on the road for the first time this preseason tonight, when they make the short trip to Edmonton. If you’ll recall, their last outing – on Wednesday night against the very same Oilers – was a rather unfortunate one, in which they were blitzed early and often.

Read on past the jump for a look at the expected lineup, and some notes in advance of tonight’s game. 

Puck-drop: 7 PM PST

Television: CBC

(s/t to Brad Ziemer).

(*) David Booth was expected to make his first appearance in a game since March 16th. Unfortunately, he left the ice just 5 minutes into the morning skate. It was announced that he experienced groin stiffness (insert your own joke). Nicklas Jensen is expected to replace him in the lineup. On a more positive note, Chris Higgins, Alex Edler, and Jordan Schroeder will in fact be making their preseason debuts. Speaking of debuts, John Tortorella will be making his debut behind the bench tonight.

While many of the regulars that were in the lineup last time out won’t be this time around, there’s still plenty of intrigue in terms of guys looking to make an impact. As Brad Ziemer wrote (linked below), time is running out for some of the fringe guys to impress the coaching staff. There are only 3 more preseason games following this one, and the regular season is a short 11 sleeps away. 

Here’s the expected lineup for the Oilers tonight:

Meanwhile, former Canucks backup goaltender Jason LaBarbera will be in net for the Oilers in this one. 

As always, I recommend you follow us on Twitter if you’d like some snark with your hockey. We’ll try to get a recap up by tomorrow morning, but I can’t make any promises. It’s Saturday night after all..