EDMONTON — The Vancouver Canucks won from the start in Game 3.
In the very first shift of Game 3, facing Connor McDavid and a five-man Edmonton Oilers unit that tore them apart two nights earlier in Game 2, Elias Lindholm’s line checked before the Edmonton’s top pair aggressively. Lindholm first scored a huge hit on Mattias Ekholm. Then Dakota Joshua followed, landing a hard shot that fell to Ekholm a second time.
In the corner, meanwhile, Conor Garland took on McDavid, making sure to take just the right amount of liberties to set the tone, without being sent into the box.
By the end of the segment, the boisterous Rogers Place crowd was 25 percent quieter than it had been 30 seconds earlier. And Vancouver was on its way to a breakout performance that put them squarely in control of this second-round series.
It was, in truth, a successful team of destiny. The Oilers dented both posts and the crossbar four times. They territorially throttled the Canucks for most of the evening. Their power play was exceptional and the officiating was subpar, in a way that favored the Canucks.
This first change, however, was a sign of intent. An intention that the Canucks were able to realize.
They were opportunistic. They were excellent defensively, especially against Edmonton’s top line. They made Edmonton pay on the power play and, in key moments, including two massive kills in the third period, managed to thwart Edmonton’s best power play in NHL history, winning the battle of the teams outright special.
Vancouver showed us again on Sunday night what they have been showing all season. Whether they are underdogs or not, this is a team that knows how to win hockey games. And they won two of three against the Oilers, to start this second round series.
Here are five takeaways from another remarkable night of hockey in Western Canada.
Brock Boeser was a dynamo in the first period for the Canucks.
The 27-year-old has been on a tear all season and has elevated his game throughout the playoffs. As good as he was on the Nashville show, that was the best moment.
In the midst of a perfect first half on the road for Vancouver, Boeser was the man who made it all happen.
Boeser started the game on the power play, firing a smart shot from the moment Lindholm deflected Stuart Skinner to tie the score 1-1. Because Lindholm’s skillful deflection was relatively subtle, the goal was initially credited to Boeser and announced in the arena as Boeser’s goal – even though Lindholm led the strike line past the Vancouver bench.
Then, at five-on-five, one-on-one against the McDavid line, Boeser got lost out of the cycle as JT Miller drew two Oilers defenders. Miller found his partner on his own just below the line, with time and space to score a hard, precise wrist shot. The goal gave Vancouver a lead they would never relinquish.
Then, following a giveaway, Boeser appeared to have his third of the period. A natural hat trick, if you didn’t realize the first goal was Lindholm’s, which many of the traveling Canucks fans in the building Sunday night didn’t.
It was Boeser’s second goal of the game, but the hats still hit the ice to celebrate what was, whether it was a hat trick or not, a dream time for Boeser and the Canucks .
Hat trick or not, Brock Boeser was unstoppable in the first period. 🤩 #StanleyCup
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🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 https://t.co/S5VkxUxjau pic.twitter.com/JHp9VMmuI5– NHL (@NHL) May 13, 2024
The second period siege
Leading throughout the second period, the Oilers put the Canucks under significant duress in the second period.
It wasn’t just the McDavid lineage. As the second period unfolded, Edmonton’s depth lines began to generate more zone time and more scoring chances than in Game 2, when Edmonton took control of the final 25 minutes of the match.
For most of the second period, it seemed all the Canucks could do was dump the puck out of their own zone for momentary relief. And often, they didn’t even succeed.
Thanks to Arturs Silovs, who was once again calm, composed and efficient, making several key saves, including stoning Draisaitl on a breakaway opportunity. The Vancouver starter also got some help from his goal posts.
Between luck, good goaltending and solid work in their own end – a stark contrast to the absolute mess that was Edmonton’s defensive zone coverage in the first period – Game 3 played out in that strange environment that we sometimes find in hockey where it seems like it’s just one team. must work twice as hard to score as their opponent. And it’s a series scenario that gives Vancouver more than a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals, if this continues.
The Oilers have a goaltending problem
Go through the goals the Canucks scored on Skinner and there wasn’t a single stinker in the bunch. One came after a huge turnover by Warren Foegele. They scored twice on the power play, the first of which was overturned.
Still, there’s just no way around it: Skinner had to find a way to save one or two of the four he allowed to prevent the Oilers from going into the third period down two points. delay. This is what separates a great Stanley Cup winning goaltender from just a good to average goaltender who is eliminated in the second round.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch allowed Skinner to spend two periods in favor of Calvin Pickard after giving up four goals on 15 shots. Skinner has now allowed 12 goals on 58 shots in the series – a horrible .793 save percentage.
It simply won’t be enough. Skinner simply cannot continue to be dominated by a third-string goaltender at the other end of the ice.
The Oilers have little chance of beating the Canucks – let alone winning the Cup – with this type of goaltending.
Should Draisaitl be moved to center?
Leon Draisaitl was absolutely flying in Game 3.
He had two excellent chances in the second period, first beating Boeser and then Quinn Hughes. One try hit the post and the other was saved by Silovs. He scored a power play goal with a one-timer from his typical sharp angle thrown in for good measure.
Draisaitl was the Oilers’ most dangerous player on their most dangerous line.
However, that line with McDavid and Hyman failed to score at five-on-five and neither did anyone else. Sure, the other lines generated more play than in Game 2 and created a few chances – Evander Kane, Derek Ryan and Connor Brown all hit the posts – but there was no finishing.
Knoblauch hinted after the morning skate that he might be open to trying Draisaitl at center. This does not happen. He may need to spread the offensive wealth a little more in Game 4 to run a more balanced attack.
Based on Draisaitl’s performance on Sunday, it appears he would be able to fill a more demanding role if asked.
Checking McDavid
As much as the Canucks were subjected to a significant siege during the second quarter, the difference between Vancouver’s effectiveness in containing the McDavid line and Draisaitl – and the five-man unit the Oilers deploy at the top of their lineup, with Zach Hyman and their top pair – in games 3 and 2 was incredible. And ultimately decisive.
The Canucks haven’t so much adjusted their game plan or deployment patterns, but rather their execution. At five-on-five, the Miller line was able to play with the puck in the offensive zone, notably generating the crucial 2-1 goal that allowed the Canucks to take their first lead of the game. Perhaps more importantly, the Miller line managed to stay the course, ending those long shifts from McDavid and Draisaitl with much more regularity and on a much more normal schedule than we saw in a Game 2 that was relatively unbalanced despite the finale. score.
With 15 minutes left in the third period and the Oilers trailing by two, Edmonton took over as one would expect given the phenomenon of scoring effects. At that point in the game, however, the Canucks had outshot the Oilers 4-3 and outshot them 1-0 in head-to-head minutes, pitting Miller against McDavid at even strength.
The importance of the Miller line’s victory against the explosive top of Edmonton’s lineup in Game 3 cannot be understated. Vancouver wouldn’t be leading the series 2-1 if that wasn’t the case.
(Photo: Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
News Source : theathletic.com
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