Oilers hold off Canucks in Game 7
to win West semifinal series
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[May 21, 2024]
It was a nail-biting finish, but the Edmonton Oilers showed
another side to their game by vanquishing the Vancouver Canucks in a
Western Conference semifinal series.
The visiting Oilers, thought of being an offense-first squad,
claimed the Stanley Cup playoff series with a 3-2 victory on Monday.
Down 3-2 in the series entering the weekend, Edmonton pushed it the
distance with a dominant Game 6 victory on Saturday before riding a
three-goal second period to the Game 7 win.
Key in the victories was defensive play. The Oilers surrendered only
17 shots on goal in Monday's game, none after the Canucks made it a
one-goal clash with 4:36 remaining in regulation.
"We defended well. We played two really good games," Edmonton
captain Connor McDavid told Sportsnet after the win. "Our backs were
against the wall and we responded. I'm really proud of the group."
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected one goal and one assist while Cody
Ceci and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers in Game 7. Goaltender
Stuart Skinner stopped 15 shots.
Evan Bouchard collected two assists and Leon Draisaitl added a
helper, giving him at least one point in all 12 of Edmonton's
postseason games this season.
Edmonton will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference
finals, which begin Thursday.
"We know they are a deep team," Nugent-Hopkins said of the Stars.
"That's in a few days. We'll process this and move on to them."
Dallas finished atop the conference.
"They're as deep a team as you're going to find in the NHL," McDavid
said of Dallas. "They're a great test but we're looking forward to
it. ... We're a deep team, too."
With the Canucks down 3-0 entering the third period, Conor Garland
and Filip Hronek responded for the hosts to make a game of it.
Goaltender Arturs Silovs stopped 26 shots for Vancouver, which
missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons before finishing
atop the Pacific Division with a 50-win campaign.
"They put respect back into this city and this jersey," Canucks
coach Rick Tocchet said of his players. "Fans have got something to
be proud about. That's because of the players."
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May 20, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks
forward Nils Hoglander (21) watches as Edmonton Oilers defenseman
Evan Bouchard (2) celebrates his goal during the second period in
game seven of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at
Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Vancouver was without top goal scorer Brock Boeser
in Game 7 because of blood-clotting issues, and it certainly
impacted the club. The Canucks failed to even register a single shot
on goal during a late four-minute power play in the first period.
After a scoreless first period that saw the Oilers outshoot the
hosts 13-2, Ceci finally opened the scoring 76 seconds into the
second period with a top-corner point shot for his second goal of
the playoffs.
Hyman doubled the lead at 5:50 of the middle frame by deflecting
Bouchard's point shot for his 11th marker of the postseason, and
Nugent-Hopkins notched a power-play tally at 15:22, just as the
Canucks were finally gaining momentum. The goal was Nugent-Hopkins'
fourth of the playoffs.
The Canucks have posted a few thrilling comebacks and came close
with another. After Garland put the Canucks on the board with 8:33
remaining in regulation, his third goal of the playoffs, Hronek's
first career playoff goal made it a one-goal game with 4:36 on the
clock. However, Vancouver could not drum up the equalizer.
"Hard-fought game," Canucks forward J.T. Miller said. "Hard-fought
series. We were a bounce away."
--Field Level Media
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