Things were testy to start, with the Oilers looking to avenge the loss of their Captain following Conor Garland’s malicious attack on Connor McDavid’s stick with the side of his face.

Thursday, 6 p.m., Rogers Place TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650 The buzz: Conor Garland is a fan favourite in Vancouver and in the crosshairs of considerable vitriol in Edmonton. The mighty-mite winger will garner considerable consideration as the Canucks’ unsung hero at the end of this trying and tumultuous season.

I t was an eventful night for the Swedes of the Vancouver Canucks, as the team managed a 3–1 win against the Nashville Predators. Nils Höglander, Linus Karlsson, and Pius Suter

The Canucks picked up the game’s first power play after some decent pressure on Nashville, as Steven Stamkos was called for holding. Perhaps lost in the shuffle is how good the Canucks’ power play was in their 5-2 win over the St.

The Pacific Division is fun this season. A new leader in the Pacific Division has emerged, as the Edmonton Oilers have a 32-15-3 record with 67 points.

Roman Josi has points in nine of his last 13 games (2g-8a) against Vancouver. He also has 19 points (2g-17a) in his last 22 games vs. the Canucks and posted a six-game point streak (7a) against Vancouver from Jan. 10, 2017-Dec. 13, 2018.

Vancouver Canucks are nowhere near as exciting, promising or entertaining as the 2023-2024 rendition of the team. Not even just by the eye test, but the numbers compared to last season don’t even resemble the same team.

Not since the players were toddlers have so many people delighted in their ability to count to two, but the Canucks earned their sound, 5-2 road win Monday against the St. Louis Blues after Saturday’s stout 2-1 victory against the National Hockey League-leading Washington Capitals.

The Canucks opened the scoring early in this one, and surprise surprise, it was Quinn Hughes getting the party started. Hughes moved in on an odd-man rush and slid the puck to Conor Garland, who buried the puck past Jordan Binnington.

The Edmonton Oilers went 2-1-0 in three games last week, improving to 31-15-3 on the season. With their win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon, they claimed the top spot in the Pacific Division for the first time in five years.

Defenseman Quinn Hughes is doing his best to keep the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference playoff chase.

Revenge games, aren’t they fun? What we saw out of Corey Perry on Thursday night is why we used to always hate him all those years he was in Anaheim before he signed in Edmonton.