Bouchard scores OT winner as Oilers tie up series with Canucks
The series is tied. Evan Bouchard scored the OT winner, as the Edmonton Oilers earned a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 2.
It was a fortunate bounce as Bouchard’s shot hit off of Canucks defender Ian Cole and past Arturs Silovs to end the game. This is the first OT victory of the playoffs for the Oilers and the first time Edmonton has beaten the Canucks in six tries.
“We stuck with it, we hung in there all night,” Connor McDavid told reporters after the game. “I thought we earned tonight’s win and that feels good.”
McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Mattias Ekholm had the other Oilers goals as the team will head back to Edmonton with the series all tied up at 1-1.
BOUCHARD CALLED GAME! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/NesKjO1Udo
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 11, 2024
McDavid arrives
If there was any doubt about McDavid’s play in the first game of the series, that should now be washed away after a dominant Game 2.
The Oilers captain was the best player on the ice all night long and it showed on the score sheet, as he picked up a goal and three assists on the night. The goal was critical as it tied the game up at 3-3 in the third period.
“If you look at Connor, his biggest asset is his speed and his control with the puck,” Ekholm said of his captain after the win. “I’m out there a lot with [McDavid and Draisaitl] and I’m a lot in the offensive zone, the credit should absolutely go to them.”
It was done in the usual McDavid fashion.
He is speed. pic.twitter.com/LyQEWDQfGg
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 11, 2024
Draisaitl was also excellent. After being a game-time decision, the German matched his captain with a goal and three assists. His goal opened up the scoring.
PLAYOFF LEON DOING HIS THING!! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/4zGpdF4HMQ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 11, 2024
Bouchard plays hero
The Oilers have had a tumultuous time with overtime hockey over the three seasons. It seems luck doesn’t often help them out when it matters most, but that changed tonight.
Bouchard’s first-ever playoff OT winner was not the blistering shot you would think and it came off of what looked like a fairly innocent play. A good bounce finally went the Oilers’ way as Cole was in the perfect position for the own goal.
“It’s a smart play by Bouch to throw it there,” McDavid said of the goal. “They got big D-men that don’t move too far from there and sometimes you can throw it there and it can rattle around and find its way in the net like it did there.”
THE. OILERS. pic.twitter.com/7X0B0OIAij
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 11, 2024
Bouchard now has two goals and 11 points in seven playoff games this season.
Change the script
The third period of Game 1 was where it all fell apart for the Oilers, but the opposite was true in Game 2.
Edmonton dominated the final frame and, outside of McDavid’s tying goal, it was surprising that the Oilers came away with just a single goal. Credit goes to Canucks goaltender Silovs for making a few difficult stops to force OT.
The shot clock in the third period checked out as the Oilers led by a large 15-2 margin and held the advantage overall at 31-19.
Game 3 will now shift to Rogers Place in Edmonton, which is set to go on Sunday night.