After another break, Oilers take on Canucks hoping for better result

Kaylee Pofahl

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After another break, Oilers take on Canucks hoping for better result image

Even if all of their top three scorers were healthy, the Oilers knew how crucial the first game back from break would be in putting their right foot forward and crawling back into the playoff race.

But now they'll have to do so without one of their top forwards, making the tall task even taller.

When Edmonton opened up play after the Christmas break with a loss against the Vancouver Canucks, it snowballed into a four-game losing streak. With the Friday announcement that forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be out for 5-6 weeks with cracked ribs, Edmonton's matchup with the Canucks on Saturday became an even more foreboding challenge. 

But that's not how the players seem to be looking at it.

"You can't replace a guy like that, I mean that goes without saying. ... It's a great opportunity, you gotta bring your best work ethic," Ryan Strome said. "An absence like Nuge, a lot of guys are gonna have to step up, myself included."

The Oilers trail the Colorado Avalanche by 10 points for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

Head coach Todd McLellan said this time around, he adjusted the approach in practice upon returning from the six-day bye with the hopes of getting his team off to a better start than after its last hiatus.

"Practice was geared differently than it was after the Christmas break," McLellan said. "I don't think we can paint every break with the same brush. We don't know what causes good play and bad play all the time coming out of a break but we did adjust things."

Entering play Saturday Nugent-Hopkins leads Edmonton with 16 goals while Connor McDavid has 15 and leads the Oilers with 52 points. Leon Draisaitl, who practiced in Nugent-Hopkins' place at second-line center Friday, is second on the Oilers with 36 points this season, but has struggled at times to produce without McDavid on his line.

Kaylee Pofahl