The Edmonton Oilers will be looking to start their season on a positive note with a rare road win Sunday night over a Vancouver Canucks team hoping to bounce back from an ugly loss in its opener.
Watch Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks live stream, clickhere.
Edmonton opened 8-2-2 last season but struggled down the stretch, finishing 32-40-10 and last in the Northwest Division. Despite those lackluster results, the Oilers open 2012-13 with plenty of optimism thanks in large part to their immensely talented core of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (19 years old), Taylor Hall (21) and Jordan Eberle (22).
Nugent-Hopkins had 18 goals and 34 assists in 62 games as a rookie last season while Hall posted 53 points in 61 contests. Eberle, meanwhile, led the team with 34 goals and 42 assists.
Edmonton is also counting on 19-year-old forward Nail Yakupov, the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, to make an impact. He's expected to skate on the second line with center Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky.
Meanwhile, Vancouver appears to have plenty of concerns of its own if its season opener is any indication.
While many were looking forward to the Cory Schneider era, he started poorly Saturday in a 7-3 loss to visiting Anaheim. Schneider, who signed a three-year, $12 million contract over the summer, allowed five goals before being removed in favor of Roberto Luongo early in the second period.
Luongo, who was expected to be traded after taking a backseat to Schneider, stopped 10 of 12 shots.
