Vancouver Canucks: A look at the the October schedule

We’re only a month away from the start of the Vancouver Canucks’ 2019-20 season. Here’s an early preview of their schedule in the month of October.

The Vancouver Canucks have won their last five season openers, and they’ll try to make it six in a row when they visit Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 2.

Vancouver went 2-1-1 against the Oilers last season, dropping the final two meetings of the season. The main question here is if McDavid will be ready in time for the season as he continues to work through a knee injury.

After the season opener, the Canucks will rekindle their feud with the arch rival Calgary Flames, who are aiming for their second straight Pacific Division title. This time, Vancouver has former enemy and pest Micheal Ferland on their side.

The Canucks went 3-1-1 against Calgary last season — including an overtime plus a shootout victory. This game will give Vancouver a chance to make an early statement as they try to gain some early ground on the powerhouse Flames.

After the two-game Alberta road trip, the Canucks return to Rogers Arena for a three-game homestand against a trio of non-playoff teams from last season. Oct. 9 marks the home opener against the Los Angeles Kings, followed by visits from the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings.

Vancouver has lost three of their last four home contests against the Red Wings, so let’s hold off in calling that a cakewalk victory. The Canucks barely managed a season series split with Detroit last year.

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Following the three home games, Vancouver will embark on a four-game road trip that begins against the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues on Oct. 17.  The Canucks have played the Blues tough since 2013-14 divisional realignment. In fact, Vancouver took five of a possible six points against St. Louis last year — including decisive 6-1 and 5-1 victories.

Oct. 19 will mark the Hughes family showdown, as Quinn will go up against 2019 first overall pick — younger brother Jack — and his New Jersey Devils. This is a chance for both brothers to leave their marks in what should be an epic and wide open Calder Trophy race.

The Canucks will then visit No. 2 selection Kaapo Kakko and his New York Rangers, who figure to rebound in 2020 after adding Jacob Trouba and Artemi Panarin. Vancouver will then travel to the Motor City and finish up its season series against Detroit on Oct. 22.

Vancouver will have a dreaded Eastern Conference road trip out of the way early. They’ll return home on Oct. 25 to face Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The Canucks have dropped seven of their last eight meetings against ‘Ovie’ and company, by the way — so Elias Pettersson and co. will have their work cut out for them.

No Roberto Luongo here, as the Canucks welcome the Florida Panthers on Oct. 28 — their final contest at Rogers Arena for the month. Like New Jersey and New York, Florida figures to be far more competitive after adding Sergei Bobrovsky, Brett Connolly, Noel Acciari and Anton Stralman in the offseason. The Canucks will then visit the Kings on Oct. 30 to close out the month of October — the first contest of a three-game California road trip.

The Canucks will only face three playoff teams from 2019 in the month of October, so this is a very manageable schedule — and it’s pivotal that they pick up these hopefully easy points early.