The Edmonton Oilers will try to end a three-game losing streak Thursday night when they take on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place.
“We have to start doing some of the harder things that are required to win games for a longer period of time,” said head coach Ken Hitchcock.
“You look at the games we’ve played that we’ve lost — we had each team right where we wanted at the halfway point. We played great.
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“We did exactly what we wanted to with 30 minutes gone in the game, then we were the first team to crack.”
The Oilers’ losing streak started with a 4-2 loss to the Canucks on Dec. 16. Vancouver scored three power play goals in the game while the Oilers had trouble generating good scoring chances.
“They keep a lot of guys back. Their neutral zone is pretty passive. They stand the line pretty hard.
“You have to be willing to get the puck up and chip it in and chip it behind them and go get it yourself,” captain Connor McDavid said.
“They’re playing really well right now. It’s tough to get anything around their net in the offensive zone. They’re playing a good structured game,” said centre Kyle Brodziak.
The Oilers expected lineup is:
Draisaitl – McDavid – Chiasson
Rieder – Nugent-Hopkins – Puljujarvi
Lucic – Brodziak – Kassian
Zykov – Spooner – Rattie
Nurse – Larsson
Gravel – Benning
Jones – Wideman
Koskinen
Jason Garrison and Drake Caggiula are out with the flu. Kris Russell should be able to return Saturday against San Jose or Monday against Winnipeg. Jujhar Khaira will serve the final game of his two-game suspension.
McDavid has been voted the Pacific Division captain for the NHL All-Star Weekend in San Jose Jan. 25-26.
“I’m very lucky to have the support I do from not only the fans in Edmonton but around the league,” said McDavid.
Catch the Oilers and Canucks on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game will start at 7 p.m.
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