Tonight, the Vancouver Canucks, the opposing team in the Pacific Division, will square off against the Edmonton Oilers. This will be the first game of a tight, hard-fought series.
Even though not every player on the Oilers roster is healthy for tonight’s series start, they are nonetheless prepared to play.
Adam Henrique hasn’t attended a practice since the Los Angeles Kings series concluded. That’s not a bad thing, but it will be very felt when he’s gone.
Throughout the playoffs, Henrique has been a huge asset for the Oilers. He has led the club in one statistic, in fact, which could surprise a lot of hockey fans.
In this postseason, Henrique leads the Oilers in hits thus far. In five games, he has thrown 22 hits. The next three Oilers players with the highest hit totals in the playoffs are Vincent Desharnais (16), Evander Kane (17), and Zach Hyman (19).
He threw 40 hits in 22 games with the Oilers during his regular season stint as well. On the other hand, in 60 games with the Anaheim Ducks, he gave up 59 hits. Although he is by no means a slouch, it was evident that his level of play increased when he put on the Oilers uniform.
If Henrique isn’t well enough to play tonight, he is a fantastic teammate who will be greatly missed. Interestingly, in order to put more physical pressure on the Canucks players, other players on the team will need to step up.
