VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Ryan Nugent Hopkins collected one goal and one assist as the Edmonton Oilers rode a three-goal second period to a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday to win Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Cody Ceci and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, while Evan Bouchard collected two assists and Leon Draisaitl added a helper, giving him at least one point in all 12 of Edmonton’s postseason games this season.
Stuart Skinner made 15 saves for the Oilers, who will face the Dallas Stars in a conference finals series that begins on Thursday.
“We did a great job first two periods, but we fought hard all night,” Nugent-Hopkins said in his bench interview after the win on ESPN. “There’s a lot of work left, but proud of what we did tonight.”
Conor Garland and Filip Hronek replied for the Canucks, who had a 3-2 series lead but could not find the clincher. Goalie Arturs Silovs stopped 26 shots.
“They came out hungry,” Vancouver forward JT Miller said. “Thought they outplayed us in the first period. … Tip your cap to the Oilers.”
Vancouver was without top goal scorer Brock Boeser in the deciding game due to blood-clotting issues.
The Canucks failed to even register a single shot on goal during a late first-period four-minute power play and failed to convert their final 14 advantages of the series, and that proved to be a huge failing.
After a scoreless first period that saw the Oilers outshoot the hosts 13-2, Ceci finally opened the scoring 76 seconds into the second period. He wired a top-corner point shot for his second goal of the playoffs.
Hyman doubled the lead at 5:50 of the middle frame by deflecting Bouchard’s point shot for his 11th of the postseason.
Then Nugent-Hopkins notched a power-play at 15:22, just as the Canucks were finally gaining momentum, when he found the mark with a sharp-angled offering for his fourth goal of the playoffs.
“We expect a lot of ourselves,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “But you just can’t say it, you have to go out and do it.”
The Canucks have posted a few thrilling comebacks and came close with another. Garland finally put the Canucks on the board with 8:33 remaining in regulation by taking advantage of a turnover in the slot and burying his third goal of the playoffs.
Then Hronek’s first career playoff goal, a seeing-eye point shot, made it a one-goal game with 4:36 on the clock.
Information from Field Level Media and the Associated Press was used in this report.
Source Agencies
