Oilers defeat Canucks 3-2 to end nail-biting playoff series
CBC
The Edmonton Oilers survived a late comeback attempt from the Vancouver Canucks to win 3-2 in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series on Monday.
The Oilers will advance to face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference final after defeating the Canucks at Vancouver's Rogers Arena.
Edmonton will continue their quest to bring the Stanley Cup home to Canada for the first time since 1993, 370 days since Leon Draisaitl declared the 2023-24 season to be 'Cup or Bust' for the team.
Cody Ceci, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for the Oilers, while Stuart Skinner made 15 saves.
Conor Garland and Filip Hronek replied for Vancouver. Playing his 10th playoff game, rookie goalie Arturs Silovs made 26 saves for Vancouver.
Vancouver was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Edmonton was 1-for-2.
With the win, Edmonton advances to the Western Conference final for the first time since 2022. Facing the conference champion Stars, the best-of-seven series will open at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday.
After learning that their leading goal-scorer, Brock Boeser, was sidelined due to a reported blood-clotting issue, the Canucks were forced to juggle their forward lines on Monday.
Sam Lafferty and Ilya Mikheyev played in Game 7 after a two-game absence, while Vasily Podkolzin was left out of the team entirely.
Silovs was the story of the first period, stopping all 13 shots he faced. Though the Canucks were awarded the first power play of the game late in the opening frame, Skinner needed to make just two saves in the period.
While the Canucks end the season with a heartbreaking loss, Vancouver finished top of the Pacific Division in the regular season, and it was the first time the team hosted playoff games since 2015.
In January, team president Jim Rutherford said the team needed "major surgery" to start winning again after a disappointing few seasons. But analysts and fans credited coach Rick Tocchet this year for instilling a new culture that saw the team one win away from the Western Conference finals.
Ceci opened the scoring on his team's first shot of the second period, with a slap shot from the right point that beat Silovs high to the glove side at 1:16.
The Oilers then went on their first power play, and Hyman scored his playoff-leading 11th goal by tipping an Evan Bouchard point shot to Silovs' stick side at 5:20.
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