The Vancouver Canucks (4-2-2) head into Edmonton (4-3-1) to take on the Oilers in a battle for first place atop the Northwest Division.
Goalie Roberto Luongo was not expected to be in Vancouver this season and Cory Schneider was supposed to be the uncontested starter. However, Luongo has started three straight and has been tremendous for the Canucks. In just five games played, Luongo has a miniscule 1.46 goals against average and an astounding 94.4 save percentage. In his latest start, Luongo shutdown the Chicago Blackhawks in a 2-1 shootout win; he made 27 saves in regulation and overtime and added three big saves in the shootout.
"Sometimes you get in a rhythm," Luongo said. "You are seeing the puck and getting bounces."" He added, "When you're in that zone you want to keep it going as long as possible and take advantage of it."
The Oilers were shutdown on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche. Nail Yakupov scored just 58 seconds into the game to give Edmonton the lead. It was the rookie's fifth goal in eight games this season. However, Colorado took over the game shortly after and won 3-1. The Oilers were shutout 40 to 26 in the loss; 18 of the Avalanche's shots came on the power play.
Previous Meetings: Vancouver and Edmonton met on the 20th of January. Edmonton won 3-2 in the shootout and got regulation goals from Ales Hemsky and Jordan Eberle. The Canucks got goals from Zach Kassian and Alex Edler. Luongo made 30 saves in the losing effort.
Predictions: The Canucks and Luongo are slowly returning to the form expected of them. Vancouver will win this game 3-1.
Start Time: 9: 30 PM EST
TV: RDS2, SNET-P, SNET-W
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