The Edmonton Oilers scored three unanswered goals in the second period and won Game 7 of their series against the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Monday.
Leading 3-0 entering the third period, the Oilers held off a late Canucks surge to advance to the Western Conference final for the first time since 2022, when they were swept by the ‘Colorado Avalanche.
The Alberta team will now face the Stars. The first game will take place Thursday in Dallas.
Cody Ceci, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the win. Stuart Skinner stopped 15 shots.
The Canucks, without their most productive forward in the playoffs in Brock Boeser, were trying to qualify for the Western final for the first time since 2011, when they lost in seven games in the Cup final Stanley against the Boston Bruins.
They lost a third ultimate match on as many occasions.
Conor Garland and Filip Hronek gave them a chance to believe by scoring in the third period. Arturs Silovs made 26 saves.
“The end of the match was stressful. I think we played a good 50 minutes, our defense was very solid throughout the game, said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. Apart from the last ten minutes, I am very proud of the team. »
“We made a mistake and it got chaotic right after. Chris [Knoblauch] calmed us down during the stoppage time and we came back to our senses,” added Connor McDavid after the game.
A lion’s start
The Oilers started the game strong, dominating the first part of the game.
Silovs quickly stood out with a spectacular save at the expense of defender Brett Kulak. The former Montreal Canadiens defender tried to score by recovering a rebound after only 90 seconds of play.
The Oilers dominated the first period without managing to find the back of the net. However, this quickly opened the scoring in the second period. The defenseman took a slapshot from the point after a faceoff to score his second goal of the series.
Draisaitl had a chance to score moments later, but Silovs dove to his left to catch the puck.
Hyman doubled the Oilers’ lead when he deflected a wrist shot off Evan Bouchard’s point at 5:50. It was a sixth goal and the 19th point for the rear since the start of the playoffs.
Nugent-Hopkins made it 3-0 when a shot from Bouchard ricocheted off the boards and landed on his stick at 15:22, on the power play. It was a second point in this meeting for Nugent-Hopkins and Bouchard.
Garland denied Skinner a shutout at 11:27 of the third period following an Oilers turnover in their defensive zone. After Ryan McLeod missed his pass, Garland scored his third of the playoffs.
Phillip Di Giuseppe had a chance to close the gap when he went solo in front of Skinner, but missed the target.
Hronek got the ball rolling at 15:24 with a one-timer from the blue line, but the Canucks ran out of time to tie the game.
“It feels good to beat such a good team,” McDavid said. It was a pretty close series and there was passion on both sides. »
The Oilers will visit the Stars on Thursday for the first game of the conference final in the West.
