The Vancouver Canucks will attempt to extend their point streak to eight games when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Vancouver is 6-0-1 in its past seven games and has yet to lose in regulation (4-0-1) on home ice this season. Both of those streaks were extended in Saturday’s 2-0 shutout of the Dallas Stars, a particularly impressive win for the Canucks against tough competition.
The Canucks took control in the second period, outshooting the Stars 14-5 and scoring both of their goals.
“That’s kind of in our identity, kind of squeezing, try not to give a lot,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “When they did, Demmer (goalie Thatcher Demko) was there. … When you play a team like that, high quality, you’ve got to buckle down, and we did.”
Demko has arguably been the NHL’s best goaltender over the league’s first month, posting a .947 save percentage and 1.55 goals-against average along with a sturdy 6-2-0 record. Coming off his second shutout of the season, Demko figures to start again Monday.
This is already the third meeting between Edmonton and Vancouver, as the two teams faced off in the first two games of the regular season. The Canucks won both times: an 8-1 rout on Oct. 11 and a 4-3 victory three days later.
Those two results apparently set the tone for each club’s early season. While the Canucks have been soaring, Edmonton has stumbled out of the gate to a 2-7-1 record.
“It is just death by a thousand cuts,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said after Saturday’s 5-2 home loss to the Nashville Predators, which continued Edmonton’s frustrating pattern of play.
“I thought we had a good start, and then just mental mistakes that just keep costing us over and over again and make us chase the game. … It kind of just snowballs.”
The Oilers have outscored opponents 14-11 in first periods this season but have then been outscored 30-13 over the rest of games.
McDavid hasn’t exactly been part of the problem with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) over eight games, yet this counts as a relative slump by the superstar’s high standards. McDavid has two assists in three games since returning from a two-game absence due to an upper-body injury.
Stuart Skinner will likely be in net Monday since Edmonton typically rotates starts between Skinner and Jack Campbell, who faced Nashville. Neither goalie has been sharp, combining for a 4.01 GAA and .867 save percentage.
With Edmonton struggling to keep pucks out of the net, the Canucks’ high-powered offense presents a challenge. Vancouver is averaging 4.36 goals per game and has a 30 percent (12-for-40) power-play percentage, among the best in the league in both categories.
Elias Pettersson is also challenging for the NHL scoring lead with 20 points (six goals, 14 assists). He is on a five-game point streak and is the third player in Canucks franchise history to reach the 20-point plateau within a season’s first 11 games.
Pettersson is one of five Canucks players — along with J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser and Filip Hronek — who are averaging at least one point per game.
–Field Level Media
