Oilers treating Canucks matchup ‘like a playoff game’

If the Oilers win the final game of the regular season Thursday night against the Canucks, they'll start the playoffs at Rogers Place.

The National Hockey League playoffs don’t start until the weekend, but the Edmonton Oilers’ head coach wants his team to treat Thursday’s final regular-season game like it’s a post-season clash anyway.

Because where the Oilers finish and who they’ll play in the first round of the playoffs partly depends on whether or not they earn a point against the visiting Vancouver Canucks.

“Most of the time, usually that last game decides your seeding somewhere, right up to the last game,” Knoblauch told reporters Thursday after the Oilers’ morning skate ahead of the game.

“For us, it’s important that we’re playing competitive hockey, playing the right way, and it’s treating this like a playoff game.”

The Oilers gleaning a point from Thursday’s 7 p.m. game would mean they finish second in the Pacific Division and host either the Anaheim Ducks or Los Angeles Kings, depending on the outcome of their games this final night of the regular season.

If the Oilers lose, however, they run the risk of falling into the final wild-card position in the Western Conference, which would mean a first-round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, the NHL’s Presidents’ Trophy winners for having the league’s top regular-season record.

Knoblauch said winning Thursday and “starting at home would be nice and staying on the Pacific side, where we’re familiar (with rivals).”

That the Canucks have long since cemented their position on the bottom of the league standings means little to Knoblauch. He pointed out Vancouver recently beat the juggernaut Avalanche in a goal-laden 8-6 win in Denver. The cellar dwellers also won their previous game, edging the playoff-bound Kings in overtime two nights ago.

“Vancouver has had their challenges this year, but they’re playing really good hockey right now ... so we’ve got to make sure we bring in our ‘A’ game.”

And that’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ intention. The Oilers forward pointed out he and his teammates have been mostly limiting opposing offences in recent games.

“The way that we’ve been playing lately, especially on the defensive side of things, has been a good indication of what we can bring in the playoffs,” he said. “We understand where (the Canucks) are at and how they’re playing: they’re playing free, they’re playing loose and they’re playing good hockey, so we have to prepare for that and make sure that our defensive mindset stays the same.”

Goalie Connor Ingram said that because there’s “a little bit riding on the line,” fans will see a “full effort.”

“That’s what you hope for is to show up,” he told media. “Like every other game throughout the year, the goal is to win.”

Projected Oilers lineup

Forward

• Matt Savoie • Connor McDavid • Zach Hyman
• Vasily Podkolzin • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins • Jack Roslovic
• Colton Dach • Josh Samanski • Trent Frederic
• Kasperi Kapanen • Adam Henrique • Curtis Lazar

Defence

• Mattias Ekholm • Evan Bouchard
• Darnell Nurse • Connor Murphy
• Jake Walman • Ty Emberson

Goal

• Connor Ingram • Tristan Jarry

Projected Canucks lineup

Forward

• Drew O’Connor • Marco Rossi • Linus Karlsson
• Liam Ohgren • Teddy Blueger • Brock Boeser
• Jake DeBrusk • Elias Pettersson • Nils Hoglander
• Curtis Douglas • Ty Mueller • Aatu Raty

Defence

• Zeev Buium • Filip Hronek
• Marcus Pettersson • Willander
• Pettersson • Kudryavtsev

Goal

• Kevin Lankinen • Nikita Tolopilo