Winger Taylor Pyatt will be in the lineup when the Vancouver Canucks clash with the Edmonton Oilers in a Northwest division battle Wednesday night.
Pyatt missed practices Tuesday and Wednesday because of the flu, but practiced Wednesday morning and appears ready to go. Pyatt's return likely means that rugged winger Jeff Cowan, who is healthy after missing 11 games with a hip injury, will watch from the press box.
Still with lineup decisions, the Oilers will start goalie Mathieu Garon, who will be making back-to-back starts for first time since joining Edmonton in the offseason. According to TSN’s website, the Oilers have called up goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers to back up Garon, and Dwayne Roloson has flown back to Edmonton to prepare for Thursday night’s game at home against the Minnesota Wild.
Roberto Luongo will get the start in net for Vancouver.
In the head-to-head matchup, the Canucks have a significant advantage, going 8-2 in the past 10 meetings with the Oilers. The teams played back-to-back, home-and-home games on Oct. 12 and 13, with the Canucks winning 5-2 in Edmonton and 4-1 in Vancouver.
Vancouver (8-8) has won three straight, is undefeated (7-0) in divisional play, and is coming off a 2-1 home-ice win over the Colorado Avalanche last Friday. Edmonton (6-10-1) beat the Flames 4-2 in Calgary on Saturday.
Edmonton is 1-4 SU in its past five games overall, and in its past five in Vancouver.
Betting Line: The Canucks are a 200-moneyline favorite at BookMaker. The over/under is 5½. |
