2020-21 Edmonton Oilers GM52: Oilers vs. Canucks – Three Players to Watch

They’re back at home for the final two games of this series and everybody is wondering, can the Edmonton Oilers make it three wins in a row over the Vancouver Canucks and hand them a seventh straight loss? If Connor’s men can do it they’ll secure home-ice advantage in the playoffs!

Click the pic and find the NHL94 player from your team!

Should they be in the lineup, here are three players that I think you should keep an eye on for the Canucks tonight,

#24 Jimmy Vesey – I didn’t really expect him to be as noticeable as he’s been. I can’t say he’s been all that impactful, but in the previous two games he’s had some nice rushes up the wing and showed some speed and skill that was very absent in Toronto.
#70 Tanner Pearson – Has four goals in his last ten games but only one in his last six. Anybody else still shocked that he re-signed in Vancouver?
#36 Matthew Highmore – This little grinder has four shots and FIVE blocks in his last five games for the Canucks. He was the player Vancouver acquired from Chicago when they sent Adam Gaudette packing at the trade deadline.

With regards to Edmonton, I’ll be watching these three individuals closely,

#97 Connor McDavid – How much closer can The King of the North get to 100pts tonight?
#63 Tyler Ennis – I love how this guy comes in after lengthy periods of inactivity like he’s a bat out of hell that’ll be gone when the morning comes. He’s a bit of a breath of fresh air on Edmonton’s third line, no? At least for myself, I’m used to seeing slow plodding grinders and players with less skill on that line. He’s got his faults, but I can deal with that because he’s so very entertaining when he’s got the puck.
#52 Patrick Russell – YES! My man is in! It’s been too long since we saw the Dangerous Dane in the lineup and I can’t wait to see him work the boards and get into the Vancouver netminder’s grill!

Draisaitl-McDavid-Puljujarvi
Kahun-RNH-Yamamoto
Neal-McLeod-Chiasson
Archibald-Khaira-P.Russell

Nurse-Barrie
Kulikov-Larsson
Lagesson-Bouchard
Jones-Bear

Koskinen
Smith

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) May 6, 2021

Oilers News and Notes

This isn’t directly related to the Oilers but a former Oiler was involved in the shenanigans.

Just, first off, you wouldn’t believe the amount of hockey pundits I heard just in the Edmonton market say that nothing was going to happen in that Rangers/Capitals game last night. I was a tad flabbergasted to be honest. I mean, how could one think that the New York Rangers were just going to let the Capitals get away with what happened or wait until next year to exact revenge?

Personally, I’m glad this game was a shit show. It was as entertaining as hell for one and New York said f*ck you to the Capitals, George Parros, Colin Campbell, the Department of Player Safety, the NHL, the purists, and all the Wokesters claiming this kind of game would have a detrimental impact on the “great game” and the procurement of future fans…

The league couldn’t handle it, so the players did and everything is done now because that’s how it works if you let the players sort it out. Maybe it’s 5 minutes of mayhem or it’s a period of insanity, it might even take the entire 60 minutes, but at the end of the game, more often that not, scores will have been settled.

I’d expect the same out of the Oilers too if somebody decided to take Connor McDavid’s career into their own hands.

The Rangers ultimately lost the game but they showed everyone (because unsurprisingly everyone tuned in to see what kind of fireworks were going to go off) that there was no way they were going to be see as a bunch of… pussies (h/t to Strother Martin) and the two points didn’t matter anyhow. What did matter was how this club was going to be viewed after what Tom Wilson and the NHL let him get away with.