Oilers blow lead as Canucks take Game 1 in dramatic fashion
The Edmonton Oilers blew a three-goal lead and lost Game 1 to the Vancouver Canucks in dramatic fashion by a score of 5-4.
Edmonton held a 4-1 lead in the second period but it was three unanswered goals in the third period that ended up being the difference. Zach Hyman had two goals while Mattias Ekholm and Cody Ceci picked up their firsts of the playoffs in a losing effort.
“We were doing everything we could to hold onto the lead,” Connor McDavid told reporters after the game. “Sometimes you’re a little bit too passive… they find a way to get two and find a way to get a third to win.”
The Oilers pushed in the final minutes with the goalie pulled but could not find the equalizer.
THE COMEBACK CANUCKS ‼️ pic.twitter.com/GKn5tf8yjZ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 9, 2024
Draisaitl down
The loss will be the biggest thing to come out of this game (obviously) but Leon Draisaitl’s status will be a close second.
After picking up two assists early in the game, the German power forward left the Oilers bench after seemingly being in a bit of discomfort. Cameras caught him on the bench talking to the trainer, but what he said was not exactly clear.
Leon Draisaitl has left the Oilers bench and has yet to return. pic.twitter.com/veQ1suliid
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 9, 2024
Knoblauch confirmed after the game that Draisaitl missed that time due to cramping and some equipment issues. It does not sound like something serious at the moment.
Draisaitl did return to the game for the third period but it looked like he was hesitant to engage with any physical play in the final frame. Losing him would be a massive blow to this Oilers team as he has been one of their best players in the postseason so far.
Shaky Stu
It was a tale of two games for Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner.
The first 40 minutes went as well as you could want it. He didn’t have much of a chance on the first two Canucks goals and he made a huge breakaway stop in the first period.
However, it all came unglued in the third period with a very ugly go-ahead goal off the stick of Garland. Skinner needed to have that one and he didn’t.
“Individually I thought I played really well up until the third period,” Skinner said after the game. “Definitely don’t like Garland scoring.”
CONOR FREAKING GARLAND OH MY GOODNESS !!! pic.twitter.com/YM2PI09kx8
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 9, 2024
Goaltending refuses to NOT be a storyline for the Oilers.
Urgency problem
Call it a home-ice advantage or too much rest, but the Oilers had an urgency problem in this one.
There were large sections of this game that the Canucks controlled every aspect of, notably at the end of the second and the entire third period. Edmonton did not record a single shot in the final frame until about 15 minutes in.
“I thought we were in pretty good positions,” Head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “We just gotta find a way to finish the job… we let it get away from us.”
Shots after the first period favoured the Canucks by a healthy 19-8 margin. The score being as close as it was probably flattered Edmonton by the way the final 40 trended. The LA Kings showed a bit of this side of the Oilers in Games 4 and 5 of the first round.
This will be something that needs to be corrected as the series continues.
The Oilers have now lost five straight games against the Canucks this season. They will try to even up the series when Game 2 gets underway on Friday night.
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