Canucks lose to Oilers 5-1, series headed to Game 7

The Vancouver Canucks lost to the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night, forcing the second-round series to go to Game 7. Edmonton avoided elimination from the all-Canadian matchup at home with a 5-1 victory, the first time in the series the game was decided by more than one goal.

Vancouver’s rookie goalie Arturs Silovs stopped 22 out of 25 shots. Stuart Skinner was back in net for the Oilers after Calvin Pickard was given the starter role for Game 4 and 5, and he blocked 14 out of 15 shots on goal.

Nils Hoglander scored the only goal for the Canucks, his first of the playoffs.

The Canucks got two power play chances in the first period, one under two minutes in when Leon Draisaitl went to the box for interference, and again at 11:16 after Connor McDavid was called for high-sticking, but Vancouver didn’t manage to score any goals while the Oilers were short-handed.

The Oilers opened the scoring 8:18 into the first, with Dylan Holloway getting a wrist shot between Silovs’ legs.

Vancouver responded just under two minutes later. Elias Pettersson passed to Hoglander, who was ready in front of the net to send a backhanded shot into the goal.

With less than a second left in the period, Evan Bouchard found the back of Vancouver’s net in a would-be buzzer-beater, but it was disallowed due to goalie interference as McDavid bumped into Silovs in the crease, causing him to fall backwards to the ice.

Both teams only registered four shots on goal each during the first period.

Zach Hyman gave Edmonton a one-goal lead 7:14 into the second with a snap shot that bounced over Silovs, and it was 3-1 just over four minutes later when Evan Bouchard got a long shot in the net.

There were a tense couple of minutes late in the second when the Canucks were down two players for 55 seconds, but Vancouver’s defence persevered and managed to kill both the five-on-three and the remaining five-on-four.

The Canucks got their own 56-second two-man advantage soon later after a too many men call for Edmonton, but also failed to score.

Vancouver was sent into a three-goal deficit by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off a pass from McDavid 3:25 into the third. Then Evander Kane scored right off the faceoff, making it 5-1.

The winner-takes-all Game 7 is scheduled for Monday in Vancouver. Whoever wins will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals. If the Canucks clinch the series, it will be their first time making it that far in the playoffs since 2011.