Canucks gameday preview: January 13 versus Edmonton

The Vancouver Canucks officially begin their 2020-21 NHL season tonight against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.

Vancouver Canucks hockey is back! The 2020-21 NHL season is officially underway today, and the team will kick off their campaign against the Oilers at Rogers Place tonight. Like always, The Canuck Way will have pre and post-game articles that will help keep you up to date on every game, and this season will be no different.

Recap of last season

Since it’s the start of a new year, I think it would be appropriate to briefly recap the performance of both teams in 2019-20. Going into the season, Edmonton and Vancouver were seen as borderline playoff clubs, and they both exceeded expectations by these standards.

Before the COVID-19 shutdown, the Oilers were vying to finish first in the Pacific Division mainly due to having the two-headed monster in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to keep up their momentum when the league resumed play in August, as Edmonton was upset by the Blackhawks in the expanded play-in tournament.

Meanwhile, the Canucks were fighting for their playoff lives during the regular season. Unlike the Oilers, however, they reached a new level once the season resumed. After losing their first match, Vancouver rattled off three consecutive wins against the Wild to officially reach the postseason, then upset the defending champion Blues in six games. During the second round, Vancouver was within shouting distance of reaching the conference finals, but they eventually lost to the Golden Knights in a dramatic seven-game series.

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The offseason was eventful for both clubs as well. Edmonton lost their number one defenceman, Oscar Klefbom, to shoulder surgery that will keep him out for the entire 2020-21 campaign. They replaced him by signing Tyson Barrie, but their most important move was upgrading their wing depth. Kailer Yamamoto is now a full-time NHL player who will slot in beside Draisaitl while the return of Jesse Puljujarvi allows Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to play alongside McDavid, which gives them a lot more depth up front.

During the same time, the Canucks made headlines by losing all of their unrestricted free agents, which included Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli, and Chis Tanev. More importantly, those three players all signed with other Canadian clubs, so it’ll be strange to play against them this season. The good news is that Vancouver was able to replace many of those pieces by signing Braden Holtby and Travis Hamonic while also acquiring Nate Schmidt from the Golden Knights.

Projected lineups

According to Bob Stauffer, the Oilers’ projected lines will look like this:

Unfortunately, Vancouver’s lineup is still very much in flux, as the team learned yesterday that they’ll be without J.T. Miller and Jordie Benn to start the season.

Word is that both players are out due to COVID-19 protocols, and we might learn more from Jim Benning later today.

There are other factors to consider as well. For instance, Nils Hoglander wasn’t listed on the team’s 22-man roster yesterday since the Canucks are planning on making more salary-cap moves today, but he will be in the opening night lineup.

We probably won’t get the official starting lineup until closer to game time, but it seems like Jake Virtanen will get a shot on the top line with Miller out while Hoglander is slated to start on Bo Horvat’s wing. I also expect Holtby to get the nod in goal.

After such a bizarre year, I can’t wait to kick off the 2020-21 season! The Canuck Way will update you on everything related to the team, and we appreciate all of your support. Go Canucks go!