Determined Oilers open home-and-home set at Canucks

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — For the Edmonton Oilers, Saturday’s game against the host Vancouver Canucks can mean much more than just a simple tune-up for the playoffs.

Preparing for their first postseason in more than a decade, the Oilers (45-26-9) have a chance to finish in first place in the Pacific Division. They are also in position to secure home-ice in the first round of the playoffs.

“We want to go into the playoffs with our game sharp and confident,” Oilers winger Milan Lucic said. “There’s a lot to play for heading into these two games. Nothing is guaranteed.”

A win Saturday will not necessarily help the Oilers accomplish those feats, but it is still essential to their cause as they prepare for their first postseason action since the 2006 Stanley Cup finals.

The Oilers can only win the Pacific if they sweep their final two regular-season games, both against Vancouver with the finale Sunday in Edmonton. If the Oilers and Anaheim Ducks are tied at the end of the regular season, Edmonton gets top spot due to a better record in games between the two teams.

With eight wins in their past 10 games, the Oilers are cruising at the right time. Sophomore sensation Connor McDavid is on a 12-game point streak and, with 97 points on the season, could become the first Oiler to crack triple digits since Doug Weight in 1995-96.

McDavid has virtually locked up the Art Ross Trophy, with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Chicago’s Patrick Kane in the distance.

Meanwhile, Cam Talbot has established a new team single-season goaltending wins record with 41, as a result of Thursday’s victory over the Sharks in San Jose. He surpassed Grant Fuhr, who backstopped the Oilers in the 1980s and early 1990s, when they won multiple Stanley Cups.

“I respect (Fuhr) immensely, what he was able to do in the ’80s was something special and to surpass a Hall of Famer is pretty special for me,” Talbot told reporters.

“(Talbot) been a warrior for us since the start of the season and been a huge difference in the team,” Lucic said.

The Oilers are also getting scoring and toughness — two valuable postseason commodities. Lucic, considered a prototypical power forward, recorded a natural hat trick Thursday, giving him five goals in three contests.

“The last three games, pucks just find me in the right place and I’m able to pounce on (them),” he said.

Patrick Maroon is another power forward who has stood out while often playing alongside McDavid. The Oilers are also getting steady defense, too.

Together, blueliners Andrej Sekera and Kris Russell blocked 15 shots against San Jose, while Talbot only had to make 13 saves. Meanwhile, defenseman Oscar Klefbom assisted on all four Edmonton goals and has six points in his last five outings.

Such strong offensive and defensive efforts have transformed the Oilers from a 29th-overall team in 2015-16 into a top-10 squad this season. They are on the cusp of 100 points after managing just 70 last season.

Meanwhile, the Canucks (30-41-9) have lost six straight games and find themselves sitting 29th overall right now. A win Saturday will move Vancouver one point ahead of the Arizona Coyotes, who edged the Canucks 4-3 on Thursday.

However, the Canucks will have to do it without veteran injured winger Loui Eriksson (knee). General manager Jim Benning has indicated that Eriksson, who has been out since early March, will not play again this season after experiencing soreness in practice.

Some fans and media types have called for the Canucks to lose their remaining games so that they can have a better chance at a lottery pick in this summer’s draft. Such thinking has angered Vancouver players.

“You don’t play a hockey game to lose,” rookie defenseman Troy Stecher told Postmedia this week. “You never go out there to try to fall in the standings. You go out there to win; that’s been our mindset in every single game.”

“We’re a young team and we just want to come in here and work hard and give our best effort — just contribute to the team any way we can,” winger Brock Boeser, 20, told Postmedia.

Boeser, the team’s top 2015 draft pick, has adapted quickly to the NHL since joining the Canucks in March after completing his collegiate career at North Dakota. He scored in Arizona and has three goals in just six NHL games.

Despite the team’s struggles, Boeser appreciates the situation that he and other newcomers are in as the Canucks hold auditions for next season.

“All the young guys are getting a great opportunity right now,” he told Postmedia.