The Vancouver Canucks have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL recently, winning six straight games as they get set to face off against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place in Alberta, Canada on Saturday night.
The team will have a challenge against an Oilers team that has won three straight home games, but the Canucks have gotten strong play from goaltender Cory Schneider and offensive power from Daniel Sedin. The team has rumored to be in talks with the Toronto Maple Leafs about goaltender Roberto Luongo and the Canucks have felt fine with idea of shipping him out based on the play of Schneider.
The Canucks trade option has been rumored about since before the season even started and things have been heating up over the past week. The trade deadline is fast approaching and the team would liek to get something for Luongo to build for the future. The team has won six games in a row despite scoring just once in 15 power play tried and are coming into the game on Saturday after a 4-1 victory against the Avalanche.
Vancouver is 19-9-6 on the season and has 44 points to put them in solid playoff position. The team is trying to extend its road winning streak after winning three in a row and the team has had success in Edmonton, losing only two of the past eight games there, including a 3-2 win in overtime in February. The Oiler are coming into the game after a 3-0 victory over the Blues and and also won earlier in week 6-4 against Columbus.
Daniel Sedin has been successful in the past against the Oilers and he will be key for the Canucks on Saturday night. The Canucks are first in the Northwest division and are ranked 18th in goals per game with over two per contest. The goaltending has been excellent while ranking fifth in the NHL and the power play percentage is ranked 29th in the league. The team has been solid on the penalty kill with over 80 percent and that will be a focus against the Oilers.
Edmonton is ranked 26th in the league in scoring and 17th in goals against with nearly 3.0 per game while earning 33 points. The team has gone 13-13-7 this season and have been excellent on special teams, ranking in the top 10 of the league in both penalty kill and power play percentage. The team is ranked sixth in power play percentage and eighth in the penalty kill and will use that against the Canucks on Saturday.