Edmonton Oilers players celebrate after eliminating the Vancouver Canucks from the NHL playoffs, at Rogers Arena, in Vancouver, on May 20.Derek Cain/Getty Images
This was something to savour: an all-Canadian Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. With the exception of 2021, when contests were played in a pandemic bubble, it’s the first time it has happened in 20 years.
The Oilers hung on to win this Victoria Day fest over the Canucks 3-2 and advanced to the Western Conference Final for the second time in three years. The season came to a disappointing conclusion for Vancouver, which exceeded all expectations, finished first in the Pacific Division and led the best-of-seven playoff series 3-2 before faltering.
It was winner-take-all, loser lick its physical and emotional wounds, with a berth in the conference final at stake. That is just one series removed from playing for a Stanley Cup final.
Six of the seven games were decided by one goal. The Oilers, who were considered a pre-season favourite to win the Stanley Cup, begin a series against the Stars in Dallas on Thursday.
Cody Ceci, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Edmonton and Stuart Skinner recorded 15 saves. The home crowd taunted Skinner early on. The club’s No. 1 goalie sat out Games 4 and 5 after allowing 12 goals in the first three games.
Conor Garland scored for Vancouver with 8:33 remaining after a turnover in the Oilers’ end by Ryan McLeod. The Canucks pushed late in the game and got another with 4:36 left from Filip Hronek.
“There is no quit in this team,” Rick Tocchet, the Canucks coach, said. “I’m really proud of these guys.”
Arturs Silovs, Vancouver’s rookie goalie, started all seven games in the series and played well overall. He was mostly buried beneath an avalanche of shots. Silovs had played only nine NHL games before the playoffs. He had 26 saves in the defeat.
The Canucks got terrible news on Sunday when it was revealed that Brock Boeser would be unavailable for Game 7 due to a blood clotting issue in one of his legs.
Boeser led the club with 40 goals during the regular season and had seven goals and five assists through 12 games in the first two rounds.
“It’s a very tough situation,” Dakota Joshua, a Canucks centre, said Monday morning. Joshua had nine hits in the loss. “It just adds more fuel to the fire to get this done for him. We don’t want to let Brock down. We will be battling for him tonight.
“It is Game 7. We have to step up no matter who it is. It’s the biggest moment in most of our lives.”
Edmonton reached the conference final two years ago before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. It staved off elimination with a 5-1 victory in Game 6 of the best of seven.
“It’s an exciting game and an exciting day,” Connor McDavid, the Oilers captain, said earlier. “It’s not every day you get to play a Game 7.
“As a Canadian kid, you dream of being in Game 7 in an all-Canadian series, knowing how important it is to both fan bases.”
The Oilers outplayed and outshot the Canucks 13-2 in the first period. Silovs saved a goal on a short-handed breakaway by Connor Brown late in the first. Ilya Mikheyev missed an open backhand for Vancouver.
Vancouver failed to score on a four-minute power play – a double-minor for high sticking on McLeod – that spanned the end of the first and beginning of the second.
The crowd was loud, and included the American actor Owen Wilson. White towels were whipped through the air.
Vancouver went 50-23-9 despite losing goalie Thatcher Demko to injury for five weeks late in the season. It finished five points ahead of Edmonton to win the Pacific Division for the first time since 2013, then defeated the Nashville Predators in the first round in six games.
Demko, a Vezina Trophy finalist, played in the opening game of the first round but did not play after that due to an undisclosed injury.
Edmonton got off to a terrible start to the 2023-2024 campaign but righted itself and was considered the favourite entering the series. The Canucks had it in their grasp, but couldn’t finish.
“They brought respect to this city and this jersey,” Tocchet said. “Fans have something to be proud of. Losing always sucks. It stings but it makes you hungrier.”
Ceci’s goal was his second in the postseason after scoring five in 79 regular-season games. Hyman scored on a tip-in for his NHL-leading 11th goal of the playoffs. Nugent-Hopkins scored on a power play and had three goals and seven assists in the seven games. Evan Bouchard added two assists and had four goals and 11 points in the series. He leads all defencemen with 20 points in the postseason.
“I think we played a really good game,” Leon Draisaitl said. He had an assist and leads all players with 24 points in 12 playoff games. “I think we can defend a little better at the end. Would we like to make it a little less stressful, yes we would.”
Said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, “It got a little stressful. We made a mistake and gave them life and a lot of energy. They saw an opportunity to get back in the game.”
Does your relationship with alcohol change during the NHL playoffs?
If you're following the NHL playoffs this spring, we want to hear from you. Are you drinking during weeknight games or only during weekend games? Are you going out to watch games at the pub more than you normally would? If so, how is that changing your drinking habits? Has the amount of drinks you consume in a week gone up or down since the playoffs began? Share your experiences below.