Just like that, the Edmonton Oilers will return to Alberta’s capital with a series split. On Friday evening, the team beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in overtime to win Game 2. The Canucks opened the scoring in the first period, as Elias Pettersson was left all alone on the doorstep, beating Stuart Skinner for the 1-0 lead. This was the first goal on the penalty kill the Oilers have allowed this postseason.
Early in the first period, there were coincidental minors. Off the faceoff in the Oilers zone, Carson Soucy took a shot with Brock Boeser getting a deflection on it in the high slot. Skinner expected a high shot, but the puck went under his pad.
It didn’t matter though, as the Oilers immediately answered on a broken play. The puck found its way in front of the net, with Ekholm burying it for his second goal in as many games. Draisaitl and McDavid picked up the assists.
Towards the end of the period, the Canucks likely should’ve been called for too many men, but weren’t. The player that came on last, Nikita Zadorov, took a shot from an impossible angle, beating Skinner above the shoulder. This is one that needed to be saved.
Edmonton tied the game with about 14 minutes left, as McDavid manufactured a breakaway with a good stick, beating Artūrs Šilovs cleanly. After dominating the rest of the third period, this goal sent the game to overtime.
Thankfully, it was the Edmonton Oilers winning it in overtime, as Evan Bouchard just fired it towards the net, getting a fortunate deflection off the stick of Ian Cole. The series is tied at one.
Things worth mentioning…
It was a feisty game, with numerous scrums after whistles, especially during the second period. One happened after a delay of game penalty for absolutely no reason at all. You have to love playoff hockey.
The refs had an awful game, as there were many missed calls in the first two periods, including two boarding calls, and a pretty obvious high stick to the face of Quinn Hughes. Not only that, but some of the calls were questionable, including the “hold” on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the first period.
Putting Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid together on the same line paid off, as each of them had a goal and three assists. The bad news is that both of them played over 27 minutes, which is a bit worrisome moving forward.
Stuart Skinner didn’t have the bounce-back game we were hoping for, as he saved 16 shots on 19 attempts for a .842 save percentage. The third goal is ugly, and he’ll need to dial it up as the series progresses.
Up next: The series shifts to Edmonton on Sunday, as that game will be held at 7:30 PM MT. The Oilers now have home-ice advantage in the best-of-five series, as they have three more home games remaining.
If you enjoy my content, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
THE INSTANT REACTION IS PRESENTED BY BETWAY
