It’s about to get heated in Western Canada: Canucks-Oilers series begins tonight

After several days of build up, the puck is finally ready to drop on the first playoff series between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers in 32 years.

Game one of the best-of-seven second round series between the two teams goes tonight at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, with puck drop scheduled for just after 7 pm PT.

Battle of Western Canada in the Second Round!

📺: @EdmontonOilers vs. @Canucks Game 1 TONIGHT at 10p ET on @espn #StanleyCup Playoffs Second Chance Bracket presented by @betwayusa ➡️ https://t.co/qVplXtRsyL pic.twitter.com/OKSMFJipcE

— NHL (@NHL) May 8, 2024

It comes nearly seven months after the two teams kicked off their regular seasons in the same building, a surprising 8-1 win for Vancouver on the back of four goals from Brock Boeser.

Plenty has happened since and no one is expecting an 8-1 Canucks victory tonight – in fact, the Oilers are considered heavy favourites to win the series.

Since Vancouver beat Edmonton three times in the first five weeks of the season, a lot has changed.

The Oilers fired their coach, turned things around and have arguably been the hottest team in hockey since the Christmas break.

Connor McDavid went from a slow start to a Hart Trophy nominee, Zach Hyman shocked the world with a 50-goal season and Stuart Skinner claimed the starting goalie gig and never looked back.

The Canucks, on the other hand, shuffled the deck a bit throughout the year, acquiring Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko and futures.

An offensive juggernaut at the start of the year, Vancouver’s goal-scoring prowess has declined in recent months in favour of a more stout brand of defensive hockey.

They’ll certainly need to lean on that defensive style of play going up against a team that is seemingly always a threat to score, and doing so without starting goalie Thatcher Demko.

Demko remains out with a lower-body injury suffered in game one against the Nashville Predators, and young third-stringer Arturs Silovs has claimed the starting job for now.

While the 23-year-old Latvian looked razor sharp against the Preds in round one, the Oilers are a whole different beast.

Most pundits are taking the Oilers to win the series, but the Canucks will tell you that’s why the games are played on the ice.

It will all unfold over the next two weeks, starting tonight, with games every second day until a winner is decided.

Elsewhere around the NHL, the Colorado Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars in overtime on Tuesday to take a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference’s other series.

In the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers are already up 2-0 on the Carolina Hurricanes, while the Boston Bruins won game one against the Florida Panthers.

_{Thumbnail photo courtesy of Getty Images.}