With just two more preseason games remaining, the Vancouver Canucks still aren't icing a lineup anywhere near what they'll have on opening night.
On Monday night, the Canucks will be facing the Edmonton Oilers and will be throwing their kids to the wolves, as an AHL and prospect-heavy lineup will face some of the best the Oilers have to offer. In particular, their defence will feature just one defenceman likely to be in the opening night lineup against both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
It's an interesting decision on the part of the Canucks, especially with so many new faces on the roster. Instead of getting a couple of preseason games in with a mostly-set lineup, the Canucks will likely have just one.
Most noteworthy of all, J.T. Miller is not expected to be in the lineup on Monday. The Canucks' leading scorer from last season has yet to play in the preseason despite playing a prominent role in how the team marketed their preseason games, even promising that he would appear in the first game.
Miller played in the Canucks' training camp scrimmage and has been practicing with the team, so there may be nothing wrong, but it is strange that he's the lone veteran who has yet to take the ice. At the same time, seeing injuries around the league to the likes of Drew Doughty and Patrik Laine, maybe it's for the best.
Monday night's game will air on Sportsnet Pacific at 6:00 p.m. PDT.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
While the Canucks didn't have a morning skate on Monday, Oilers reporter Jason Gregor reported the Canucks' expected lines out of Edmonton. While the Canucks will have a handful of NHL veterans in the lineup, as many as 11 of the 20 players in the lineup could start the season with the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL.
Here are the projected lines, which will be updated when the Canucks take the ice for warm-up:
There are a couple of things worth noting here. Perhaps the most intriguing is the all-diacritic line of Nils Höglander, Aatu Räty, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki.
Höglander and Räty have been linemates right from the start of training camp but have had Conor Garland as their third the entire time. This feels like it's simultaneously an opportunity for Räty to prove himself without Garland's outstanding puck possession game and a chance for Lekkerimäki to prove he can handle himself without the top-six forwards he's played with so far in the preseason.
The combination of Phil Di Giuseppe, Nils Åman, and Kiefer Sherwood is also interesting because that's a line that could very well be a fourth line at times for the Canucks this season.
The defence is rough, with three veterans on the right side who are all borderline 6/7 guys. Elias Pettersson and Kirill Kudryavtsev on the left side of the top four could play some major minutes against the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl, which is a stiff test for the young blueliners.
Edmonton Oilers projected lines
The Oilers' expected forward lines for Monday night's game are not too far off from what they could ice in the regular season, especially down the middle, though their defence won't be as strong.
There will be a few former Canucks in the lineup, including one getting a prominent spot alongside Connor McDavid.
Here are the projected lines for the Oilers:
Vasily Podkolzin - Connor McDavid - Corey Perry
Jeff Skinner - Leon Draisaitl - Viktor Arvidsson
Mattias Janmark - Adam Henrique - Connor Brown
Drake Caggiula - James Hamblin - Lane Pederson
Brett Kulak - Josh Brown
Travis Dermott - Troy Stecher
Ben Gleason - Ty Emberson
Stuart Skinner
Collin Delia
Vasily Podkolzin getting to play with McDavid is potentially a big story, though odds are low that he'll start the regular season on that line. It will at least be a good opportunity for him to prove himself against his former team.
Other former Canucks playing in this game include defencemen Travis Dermott and Troy Stecher, forward Lane Pederson, and goaltender Collin Delia, though Delia is unlikely to actually appear in the game as he's just the projected backup. Dermott is with the Oilers on a PTO but could earn a contract after a pretty solid preseason.
