The Edmonton Oilers are looking to finish their preseason at 0.500 tonight as they face the Vancouver Canucks in their 8th and final preseason game. The Edmonton Oilers are currently 3-4 in the preseason. They have lost two games to the Flames, won and lost to the Kraken, beat the Jets twice and lost once to the Canucks. A win tonight, while it would actually mean nothing, could give the Oilers a bump of momentum heading into the regular season.
For the Canucks themselves, they have also not had the best preseason, and a win tonight would also get them to even throughout the preseason. The Canucks have split games with both the Flames and Jets, while have lost to the Oilers once. A win tonight would cause them to split every home and home they have had this preseason.
As I mentioned above, I don't think these two teams are going to kill themselves trying to win this game. In the large scale of trying to win the Cup, the preseason has zero effect on that outcome. For these two teams, the main goal of this game is to get through at least 60 minutes healthy and without any injuries. These are two teams that should be battling it out for the top of the Pacific Division, just like they were last season.
In my opinion, the Edmonton Oilers are going to be the better team this season. Hopefully tonight the Oilers will show it. One thing that I would like to see be better for the Oilers tonight is their defense/goaltending. In their seven preseason games, the Oilers have allowed 32 goals that is an average of over 4.5 goals against/game. If the Oilers are hoping to have success, they are going to need to bring that number down. I would rather them figure it out sooner rather than later, because we do not need a repeat of the start of last season.