Canucks beat Oilers 4-3 to take back series lead

Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser (6) chases Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) during second period second-round NHL playoff action in Edmonton, Sunday, May 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

The Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 Sunday night and now lead the second round series 2-1.

The Oilers sent more than double the number of shots at Canucks netminder Arturs Silovs than Vancouver did at Edmonton's net. Silovs had an impressive showing at the road game, blocking 42 out of 45 shots on goal. Stuart Skinner stopped 11 out of 15, before he was replaced by Calvin Pickard in the third period, who blocked three shots. 

It was also a penalty-heavy match with 20 minutes in the box between the two teams. 

Edmonton’s potent power play was on display early in the game after Brock Boeser was called for tripping Leon Draisaitl. Mattias Ekholm opened the scoring 5:37 into the first period, with seconds left go in the one-man advantage.

But it didn’t take long for the Canucks to respond with a power play goal of their own. Draisaitl went into the box for interference, and Elias Lindholm put one on the board for Vancouver at the 8:45 mark.

At 13:18, Boeser made it 2-1 for the Canucks, and with only 1:26 left go in the first, he scored again. That goal was announced as a hat trick, with some fans at the watch party at Rogers Arena in Vancouver even throwing their headgear onto the ice. But Lindholm was retroactively credited with the Canucks’ first goal.

In the second period, a holding call for Filip Hronek gave Edmonton its second power play, which it capitalized on when Draisaitl scored at 3:36.

Just like in the first, Lindholm replied with a power play goal at 17:35. The five-on-four came after Danell Nurse was called for cross-checking.

A four-on-four came next after Nikita Zadorov sent Evander Kane over the boards and got called for roughing while Edmonton received a bench penalty.

The four-on-four carried into the third period, and the game remained 4-2 for the Canucks.

Zadorov was sent to the box again for tripping Connor McDavid 2:50 into the period. Vancouver killed off that penalty for the first time in the game. Another power play chance came for the Oilers when Ian Cole was called for cross-checking at the 11:15 mark, which the Canucks also killed.

The Oilers pulled Pickard with about three and a half minutes left in the last period in favour of an extra attacker. Evan Bouchard made it 4-3 with just 1:17 left to go in the game. Skinner came back for the faceoff, but the net was empty again for the final minute and the Canucks held on to take back a series lead.

Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Tuesday in Edmonton.