Even when the Seattle Whatever They’re Called’s join the NHL in the 2021-22 season and become the Vancouver Canucks’ numero uno rival, wins against teams like Edmonton and Calgary will still probably have a little extra sweetness to them.

As it stands now, they are delectable, and even when the Canucks are outshot 32-20 and come away with a win they might not have deserved, it’s hard to spread cynicism when beating a team from Alberta.

So it was that the Canucks didn’t have a great game, but they did show remarkable hustle and opportunism in scoring four goals in the first period, limiting the Oilers to two powerplay goals in the first half of the game, and slamming the door the rest of the way.

Here’s what else we saw in the Canucks’ 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Three that impressed

1. Nikolay Goldobin

One of Vancouver’s favourite whipping boys came to play in Edmonton, as Goldobin registered two assists on the night.

Of course, his critics will still point to his linemates as the reason he was able to put his name on the scoresheet, but it’s hard to deny the Russian didn’t at least hold his own with Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson.

It was nice to see, as Goldy hadn’t hit the scoresheet in his previous three games. It’s hard to disassociate Pettersson from Goldobin, but the latter is certainly a better season than last, all things considered. He had 14 points in 38 contests last year and is already at 23 in 39 games.

2. Jacob Markstrom

Another solid outing from Marky, who’s had only one so-so outing in his last seven (it came at home against the Oilers, and the Canucks still won that one). In fact, December might have been the Swede’s best month as a Canuck to date. He’s 7-1 with a .943 save percentage so far in the last month of 2018.

He couldn’t be faulted for the two powerplay goals and was perfect the rest of the way. He also seems to have really elevated his puck-handling game recently, as his work with the stick helped the Canucks defencemen tremendously.

3. The Canucks’ grind line

As good as the Canucks’ line of Pettersson, Boeser and Goldobin was, it’s pretty obvious that coach Travis Green was more delighted with the play of Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle and Tyler Motte.

The trio combined for two Canucks goals (though Bo Horvat was on instead of Motte during one of them), and continuously brought the speed and effort that Green is always preaching. No other line had as many shots (or ice time) as theirs, and both their goals could be chalked up to persistency. They also hit everything that moved, which doesn’t hurt.

Three that didn’t

1. Mikko Koskinen

The 30-year-old goaltender has been anointed the Oilers’ savior after a rough start to the year by presumptive starter Cam Talbot, but Koskinen was victimized by the Canucks. After giving up four goals on six shots in the first, the Finn was given the hook by coach Ken Hitchcock. It wasn’t necessarily his fault, as at least a few of Vancouver’s goals were certainly not going to be stopped, but those are the breaks.

https://twitter.com/TheStanchion/status/1078481420740222976

2. The Identity Line

Only Edmonton would come up with a name like that for the trio of Zack Kassian, Milan Lucic and Kyle Brodziak.

Their identity last night was one of trying to hit everything and also giving away the puck and also being a collective minus-6 while also registering some of the worst puck possession numbers on the team. Seems like a good name.

3. The Oilers’ depth

Edmonton has been trying to compete for a Stanley Cup since they acquired Connor McDavid (why wouldn’t you?) but it’s really hard to watch a “top five player” (as Elias Pettersson called him) try and create without much help beyond Leon Draisatl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Simply put, this isn’t a game a team like the Oilers should be losing, but Matt Benning is their third defenceman…If the Oilers didn’t have McDavid, it’s hard to imagine how dire their situation would be.

Notable

- Alex Chiasson has been one of the better stories for Edmonton this year (because he’s been playing with McDavid and a high shooting percentage), and may be out for a while after taking a shot to the knee. He won’t play for Edmonton tonight, that much is confirmed.

- It looks as if Brandon Sutter is on his way back to the Canucks’ lineup. Sven Baertschi also isn’t far behind. It’ll make for some interesting decisions for the Canucks, especially with their strong play of late. Tim Schaller will likely be relegated to AHL Utica (he was scratched against the Oilers), and waiver eligibility may play a part in Adam Gaudette going down as well.

- The Sutter return will also be interesting in how it changes Green’s utilization of his lines. Will he keep Beagle, Roussel and Motte in that shutdown role or give Sutter and Markus Granlund the chance?

- Josh Leivo was given just over nine minutes in ice time (second-lowest on the team after Gaudette), as Loui Eriksson and Jake Virtanen occupied Horvat’s wings and Golodbin was with Boeser and Pettersson. It’s not a great sign for Leivo, who was playing quite well in a top-six spot.

Quotable

- “As a line, we were pretty excited when we found out we were going to get that role.” – Tyler Motte on the assignment of shutting down Connor McDavid’s line

- Everybody’s working, everybody’s dialed in.” – Elias Pettersson

- We played 55 minutes of really good hockey. We had a tough go on some of the goals.” – Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock