The Vancouver Canucks scored only 13 goals in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Head coach Rick Tocchet said 13 probably wouldn’t get it done against Edmonton.
He was right. The Canucks scored three straight goals in the third period to beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in game one of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. The game-winner came from Conor Garland as he beat Stuart Skinner through the five-hole with six minutes left in the third.
“I don’t have the strongest shot. I just try to freeze goalies from time to time,” Garland said after the game, “[You] make a move and when you make a move sometimes things open up.”
The Edmonton Oilers Blow a 3-Goal Lead in Loss
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Edmonton didn’t have a shot on goal for the first 15 minutes of the third period, and this was the first playoff game in Connor McDavid’s career he didn’t have a shot on goal. “It was kind of a frantic game,” McDavid said.
The Canucks top line got their first goal in the third when J.T. Miller tipped a Brock Boeser shot past Stuart Skinner to make it 4-3. “Whenever any team gets momentum, it’s tough to slow them down,” Skinner said, “but I thought we did a good job except for that fifth goal.” Nikita Zadorov tied the game with six minutes left with a one-timer from the point.
Oilers Not Rusty After a Full Week Off
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Three years ago, Wayne Gretzky watched the Edmonton Oilers’ power play and said, “When I see these guys in a five-on-four, it’s almost unfair.”
That power play got to work less than a minute into the game when Vancouver took a too-many-men penalty. It didn’t take them long to make it 1-0 as Zach Hyman buried a bad-angle shot off a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Hyman had two goals; he now leads the playoffs with nine goals.
Stuart Skinner was spectacular in the first period, holding the Canucks off the board as Vancouver held the puck for the last 90 seconds of the period.
Vancouver Gets 2 and Is Down 2 After 2 Periods
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Oilers winger Leon Draisaitl left the game with about eight minutes left in the second period. It looked like he had back pain. He was back on the bench at the start of the third period.
Vancouver got on the board less than a minute into the second period. An Ian Cole shot bounced off the end boards right to Dakota Joshua, who beat Stuart Skinner from a sharp angle to make it 4-1. “We’re always confident…no matter what the score is,” Joshua said, “we’re going to play hard and keep playing.”
Vancouver cut the lead to two late in the second. Elias Lindholm came around from behind the net, threw the puck into the blue paint, and went off Stuart Skinner’s stick and into the net. After two periods, it was 4-2.
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Bradley Tachco is a career journalist. I spent 12+ years at CNN as a writer and producer. My sports: NHL, MLB, NFL. My goal: unique content. And my teams are the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bills (yes, I’m a masochist), and the Los Angeles Dodgers. I have been a Dodgers fan since I was old enough to think. I have gone through decades of despair with all three franchises. You can follow Bradley on X @p09691
