Oilers hold off Canucks in Game 7 to advance to Western final

Zach Hyman scored his 11th NHL goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Leon Draisaitl had an assist to extend his playoff-opening point streak for second-seeded Edmonton to 12 games. the Pacific division. Stuart Skinner made 15 saves and Evan Bouchard had two assists.

“It’s exciting to beat a great Vancouver team,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “They’re a very good team. Not long ago, a few months ago, we were sitting here doing an interview and we were talking about our 8-1 loss (in the first game of the season).They had our number and we feel It was good to come out on top. It was a close series, a heated series, both fans went crazy. It’s fun to come out on top.

The Oilers will face the Dallas Stars, who eliminated the Colorado Avalanche in six games, in the Western Conference final. The first game of this best-of-7 series will take place in Dallas on Thursday.

“They’re a great team, too,” McDavid said. “It’s the conference final, you’re going to have to play a great team, and that’s certainly the case. They’re deep, they’re as deep a team as you’ll find in the NHL. Four lines, six ( defenders), they have an excellent goaltender. It will be a good test, but we are looking forward to it.

Conor Garland and Filip Hronek scored in the third period, and Arturs Silovs made 26 saves for Vancouver, the Pacific’s top seed. Forward Brock Boeser, who led the Canucks with seven goals in the playoffs, did not play due to an undisclosed injury.

“This team has brought respect back to this city and this jersey, let’s be real,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “There’s no giving up on this team. I’m really proud of the guys.”

Edmonton outshot Vancouver 13-2 in the first period, but couldn’t overcome Silovs. He performed a full split to make a blocking save on Brett Kulak’s rebound attempt at 1:26, stopped Hyman on a partial breakaway at 4:54 and denied Connor Brown on a short-handed breakaway with 41 seconds left. in the period.

“‘Arty’ played his part for us,” Tocchet said. “What a playoff run for this kid and his growth, so there’s a lot of positives to take from it.”

The Canucks failed to generate a shot on goal during a four-minute power play late in the first period that extended into the second for 14 seconds. The Oilers then broke the ice a little over a minute later.