After what’s felt like an eternity for hockey fans, the Vancouver Canucks are set to face off against the Edmonton Oilers for Round 2 of the NHL Playoffs on Wednesday.
The Canucks have home-ice advantage in the series, meaning Game 1 will take place at Rogers Arena.
Vancouver police said they’ll be repeating their game plan from Round 1, flooding the downtown core with officers as they look to keep celebrations family-friendly.
READ MORE: A last-minute cheat sheet for the aspiring Canucks bandwagon fan
Const. Tania Visintin again urged anyone who does plan to drink to do it at home or at a licensed bar or restaurant. Police issued 20 to 30 liquor-related tickets per home game during Round 1, she said.
“Public intoxication also contributes to very rowdy, risky behaviour like climbing statues, fights, a lot more violence,” she said.
“This behaviour is dangerous, it incites the crowd and it contributes to further disorder. So if we see this type of behaviour or we see anybody drinking in public we will take enforcement.”
The public is being urged to use transit if they need to head downtown, and the Metro Vancouver Transit Police are warning people to expect crowds.
“It will be busy, there will be thousands of people,” Const. Amanda Steed said. “So just remind yourself of that when you are planning your trip.”
The City of Vancouver announced Wednesday that it will finally host outdoor public viewing parties for the playoffs, but not until Sunday’s away game in Edmonton.
In the meantime, family-friendly watch parties are being held at Social Heart Plaza in Delta, the Port Coquitlam Community Centre, Burnaby’s Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre and Maple Ridge’s Greg Moore Youth Centre.
Canucks gear up
While the Canucks won the Pacific Division this year, they’re going into their matchup with the Oilers as heavy underdogs, at least according to the vast majority of sports analysts and the betting markets.
The Oilers battled back from a terrible start of the season to nearly catch the Canucks in the points race, and boast a roster of lethal forwards including Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman.
“Not to build them up too much, but they’re a hell of a team, there’s some strengths they have that we have to make sure that we’re clean on,” head coach Rick Tocchet said Wednesday.
“They’re very good at attacking. They’re one of the better teams at taking the puck to the net.”
Despite that, Tocchet said the team wasn’t letting the “U” word get in its head, noting the team defied many analysts’ low expectations in the regular season.
“If we felt we were at the start of the year underdogs, this and that, I don’t think we’d be in the position we are,” he said.
“I think guys came into the season like, ‘Hey, we’re a good hockey team, and that’s the way we approach it.’”
Tocchet confirmed that Latvian rookie Arturs Silvos, who earned a shutout to eliminate the Nashville Predators in Game 6, will be in goal for the Canucks Wednesday.
He also sought to dispel persistent rumours that star centre Elias Pettersson, currently grappling with a goal drought, has an injury.
“I think he’s fine,” he said.
“I know some people are speculating we’re hiding an injury, we don’t lie here. So, for you guys who want to make it something, he’s got a broken wrist or a broken back, he doesn’t. He’s just a little sick.”
Pettersson missed practice on Tuesday, reportedly with a cold.
The young Swede, for his part, said his game plan for Wednesday came down to playing off his “instincts.”
While the Canucks beat the Oilers in all four regular-season matchups, no one on the team is taking anything for granted.
“That’s the regular season. Obviously, we know we can beat them, but playoffs are different, that’s in the past,” Pettersson said.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to do us and do what we can to stop them.”
Nikita Zadorov, the Canucks’ massive Russian defender, said the Canucks would stick to the same defensive mindset that helped them close out the Nashville Predators in six games.
They’ll also need to keep disciplined or face Edmonton’s deadly powerplay.
“Stay out of the box and turnovers, I think those two main things,” Zadorov said.
In the meantime, he said the club was thriving on the playoff energy.
“Nothing beats the playoff atmosphere in Canada. We saw the first game here I had tears during the national anthem,” he said.
“Everybody has flags on their cars, and my kids in school, everybody dressed in Canucks jerseys. So it’s definitely a different atmosphere in Canada compared to the United States.”
Game 1 kicks off at 7 p.m. PT.