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Nugent-Hopkins out as Oilers, Canucks return from break (Jan 20, 2018)
The bye week was supposed to give the Edmonton Oilers a much-needed break to regroup from what's been hugely disappointing season and make a playoff push.
That goal is more of a long shot before returning to game action.
Playing without Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton plays host to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
The Oilers went into their break with road wins on consecutive nights over the Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes. Edmonton also comes out the break by starting a five-game homestand, and the club has picked up points in five of their last seven contests at Rogers Place.
On Thursday, though, the Oilers said Nugent-Hopkins would miss five to six weeks with what coach Todd McLellan said was a cracked rib suffered in the win over Vegas on Jan. 13.
On a team that includes Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid, McLellan may be hard-pressed to say who's been the better player this season.
"You can make an argument who our key go-to guy has been this year," McLellan said. "Obviously, Connor's having a pretty good year individually and some others, but I would throw Nuge right up there. He's been trustworthy in every situation, given us valuable minutes, improved his game."
Nugent-Hopkins leads the Oilers with 16 goals -- one more than McDavid -- and four power-play tallies. The 11th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft is third on the team with 31 points.
With a little less than half the season remaining, Edmonton (20-23-3) is 13th in the Western Conference -- one point ahead of Vancouver (18-21-6).
"We're not in the position we want to be, we've said that all along, so, work to do," said McDavid, whose team is 4-0-1 in its last five home games versus the Canucks.
Cam Talbot (16-16-1, 3.11 goals-against average, .902 save percentage, one shutout) is expected to start, but if he gets pulled, new backup Al Montoya would make his home debut. Acquired Jan. 4 from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2018 fourth-round draft pick, the journeyman has stopped 32 of 33 shots in two relief appearances.
"Al has just brought a relaxation factor to the crease. He just has a different personality than LB (former backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit)," McLellan said.
After opening a season-high seven-game road trip with three straight defeats, Vancouver comes out of its bye week looking for its third consecutive win. On Sunday, the Canucks defeated the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, on Brandon Sutter's overtime goal.
Jacob Markstrom continued his strong play with 21 saves, and has allowed four goals on 52 shots en route to winning his last two starts. The Sweden native has lost six of his last eight road games, but three of those defeats came in overtime.
The break may have come at an opportune time for forward Brock Boeser, who has failed to collect a point in a season-high three straight games, and has one goal and one assist in his last seven contests.
Boeser leads all rookies with 22 goals and is second with 40 points behind Mat Barzal of the New York Islanders.
Having missed the last 17 games with a broken foot, Vancouver center Bo Horvat returned to practice on Friday. In posts that evening on the Canucks' Twitter feed, Horvat said he "feels ready to play," but coach Travis Green said the center may not suit up until Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets in the finale of the road trip.
"Everything's pretty much 100 percent and I'm just taking it day-by-day now," Horvat said. "It's up to the docs and our training staff to decide whether I'm ready to go or not."
Horvat led the team with 20 goals and 52 points last season. He scored two goals in the Canucks' season-opening 3-2 win over the Oilers on Oct. 7
The ninth overall pick in the 2013 draft has 10 goals and 10 assists in 28 games in 2017-18. Vancouver was 4-11-2 in his absence.
