Oilers Win 4-2

This match-up is the fourth of five meetings this season between both clubs and to date Vancouver has reached a record of 3-0-0, with Jason Garrison leading the way for all Canuck skaters with five points.

The Canucks are ranked 4th in the Pacific Division with 63 points, while the Oilers bring up the basement ranked 7th with 38 points and look at moving up, albeit very slow.

On the season so far the Oilers have only won 7 road games, while the Canucks have won 14 at home and lost 13 on home ice.

Not only is this another home game, the Canucks have taken the liberty of calling it Canadian Armed Forces Night which will include a ceremonial puck drop with Rear Admiral Ron Lloyd plus representatives from the Submarine HMCS Victoria.

All this in honour of the 100th Anniversary of the Submarine Service in the RCN. In addition several members of 442 Squadron were on hand to drop from the rafters prior to the game. Nice touch!!

Mike Sullivan and Glen Gulutzan are still behind the bench for the Canucks due to the suspension of John Tortorella, who returns soon and not sooner enough for many Canuck supports.

Both have combined for 294 NHL games of head coaching experience, which adds to the production of the team’s success.

The game has intensity and with many on hand to take the game in, the winner will be determined on who players stronger and with more aggression.

Both the Oilers and the Canucks played the previous day and given the long travel by both clubs having a day off would help.

This is not the fault of the Canucks as each year they submit the open dates the building is available to the league and from there it’s up to the league for final scheduling of games.

They get what they get and if you submit fewer game dates open, you just might get a worse schedule than expected.

The Canucks have 17 back-to-back games and no doubt that is a concern for any club, but with so much going on for the venue, the game has to be played sometime.

This according to the Coaching staff for Edmonton Head Coach Dallas Eakins as we went on to discuss his time in the AHL.

When asked about the learning process from minor-pro to the NHL he told me “having the chance to learn a skill at the minor pro level is great and I learned a lot and not only do the players learn, so do the Coaches when it comes to dealing with various issues faced on a daily basis.”

He still keeps in touch with many of his friends in Oklahoma which is the Oilers farm club. He mentioned “they enjoy hockey in that part of the US and especially last year with us starting the young stars, it helped grow our success in that area for the future.”

Recent recalled player from the Utica Comets Jordan Schroeder has appeared in 34 career games with the Canucks, collecting nine points (3-6-9) and six penalty minutes.

He has played in 181 career AHL games with the Manitoba Moose and Chicago Wolves, grabbing 104 points (45-59-104) and 38 penalty minutes.

Following the game acting head coach told the media “We didn’t play hard enough and the blame is on everyone including the coaches.”

He continued “We have to control more than we did tonight to get the result we want. We have to find a way as a group to play a more inspired game. We had an opportunity tonight and we let it slip.”

The Canucks next face the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, who look at showcasing what they have in store for the long play-off run.

Meanwhile, the Canucks continue to work hard both on and off the ice. The work in the community continues to impress as with such a professional attitude, they gather the solid support from the community as well as the corporate world.