Canucks vs. Oilers: Five key questions for this playoff series

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The Vancouver Canucks are playing their first playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers in 32 years.

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The Canucks beat the Oilers four times, but the Oilers were one of the hottest teams in the NHL in the second half of the season.

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Here are five questions ahead of Game 1 on Wednesday.

Can the Canucks stay focused?

He’s the classic “can’t stop, only contain” player.

“Stay out of the box,” Nikita Zadorov pointed out. The Oilers’ lethal power play scored nine goals on 20 opportunities in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings, which made a huge difference in the series.

Avoid turnovers, Zadorov added.

In other words, the Canucks just need to execute their own game plan.

It’s a simple checklist, head coach Rick Tocchet says.

“I’d like us to hold pucks,” he said. Be spare in how you shoot the puck, and if you lose possession, try to get it back.

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Against Nashville, Tocchet pressed the need not to miss the net high and wide; those can become dangerous turnovers and the Oilers are obviously a much faster team than the Predators, so you must avoid giving them counter-attack opportunities.

“We’ve got to attack,” he said. They can’t sit back and try to defend.

“If Edmonton makes a mistake…we can’t just send one forechecker and have four guys back. We’ve got to press,” he said.

“When there’s battles, we need five in there. We don’t need two guys in and three guys back. You’re not going to win that way against Edmonton.

What about the Hughes factor?

There’s so much chatter about how McDavid can influence the game, but the Canucks have a game-breaker of their own in Quinn Hughes.

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“When he’s on the ice, (Edmonton) has to be on guard. Maybe they can’t be as aggressive because if you’re aggressive against Quinn, he’ll make you pay. So it’s no different than our attitude towards their players,” Tocchet said.

Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said his players have to keep to their system, that they also need to get on Hughes quickly. If you try to anticipate his passing, you’re in trouble.

“That’s where you get caught, that’s where you look silly,” he said.

Who can win the slot battle?

“They’re one of the better teams at taking the puck to the net,” Tocchet said. The star power of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl draws most of the attention, but the Canucks coach believes that the key is about keeping the Oilers from getting to the net.

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Edmonton scored 41 goals in the regular season off stick tips or other deflections, tied for sixth-most in the NHL. The Canucks lead the league with 51 goals by tip or deflection.

The Oilers also scored 29 goals on backhands, which are most often scored off rebounds, second-most in the NHL behind the Canucks’ 31.

The Canucks have thrived in the slot. They’re very good at defending their own slot area.

But so have the Oilers.

According to HockeyViz.com, the Canucks suppressed shots from their own compared to the league average by 11 percent. The Oilers were nearly as good at 10 percent.

Does the season series matter?

“Well,” Pius Suter said flatly.

“You don’t start the game up 1-0,” Dakota Joshua said.

Elias Pettersson gave a mild yes: “We know we can beat them, but playoffs are different.”

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Knoblauch only coached the final game of the season between these two teams and his squad was without McDavid for that contest, but he believes there are lessons to be learned from it.

Knoblauch said: “There’s things that we saw the Vancouver did very well and beat us at, and we need to make some small adjustments to minimize their shrinks,” referring to the Canucks’ tendency to consolidate their five defenders toward the net, making it harder to get shots through.

Are the goalies up to the task?

Arturs Silovs is in the Canucks net for now. If he falters, Casey DeSmith will take over. Thatcher Demko may be able to play in the final game of the series, but don’t hold your breath.

Stuart Skinner in the Edmonton goal has turned around his play immensely.

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This game is high pressure, with strong shooters and smart forwards trying to screen the goalies. How do they deal with all that?

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It’s game day! Read more of our Canucks vs Oilers Round 2 playoff coverage:

• Canucks viewing parties: Here’s where to watch the Canucks vs. Oilers Round 2 playoffs
• Could Thatcher Demko really play vs. the Oilers?
• Canucks vs. Oilers: All a bloodless rivalry needs is a playoff series
• ESPN seems to hate Vancouver
• Canucks this week, playoff edition: Underdogs against the Oilers — just the way we like it
• Pearl Jam leaves Vancouver with a special Canucks message
• Like Rocky Balboa, Arturs Silovs wants to go the distance against Stuart Skinner
• After half a century on the back burner, might the Oilers-Canucks rivalry finally be heating up?
• How Pius Suter makes the Miller line go from good to dominant
• ‘I can’t stand’ it: Canucks coach Rick Tocchet tired of embellishment in playoffs
• Underdogs? Quinn Hughes ‘prepared to play my best hockey’
• JT Miller on matching up against Connor McDavid: ‘He’s different than anybody’
• Unplugging Edmonton’s potent playoff power play is a top priority

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