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Oilers suffer crushing defeat despite badly outshooting Canucks in Game 3

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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May 13 2024, 4:25 am
Oilers suffer crushing defeat despite badly outshooting Canucks in Game 3
Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers got an early lead in Game 3, but the Vancouver Canucks were able to walk away with a 4-3 win.

It appeared this one was over late in the third with the Canucks holding a two-goal lead, but with just over a minute remaining, Evan Bouchard was able to give his team life to make things interesting.

That was as close as things would get, however, as despite several chances in the dying seconds, the Oilers were unable to get things squared up.

Brock Boeser was fantastic in this one, particularly in the first period. The 27-year-old saw some hats come down at Rogers Place late in the first on what was believed to be his third of frame, though the Canucks’ opening goal ended up being credited to Elias Lindholm later on.

“At the end of the day, they’re beating us at 5-on-5 scoring,” Warren Foegele said. “That seems to be the difference. Usually, at this time of year, special teams are the difference, but they have a good power play and penalty kill too. They’re scoring 5-on-5 goals and we’re not scoring as many.”

Proving Foegele’s point, two of the three Oilers goals tonight came on the power play, while the third came from an extra attacker after they pulled their goalie.

 

After Leon Draisaitl’s power-play goal, the Oilers trailed 3-2 for a large chunk of the second. That changed late in the frame, however, as Elias Lindholm scored his second of the night to restore the Canucks’ two-goal lead. That goal wound up ending Stuart Skinner’s night, as Calvin Pickard came out to start the third.

Goaltending was perhaps the biggest story in this one, as Skinner allowed four goals on 15 shots. Meanwhile, at the other end of the ice, Arturs Silovs was phenomenal, making 41 saves.

After a relatively good first-round series for Skinner, things have completely fallen apart for him against the Canucks. He now has a .733 save percentage through the first three games, and will need to be far better to give the Oilers a chance to advance. That is, of course, if he winds up getting the net for Game 4.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t pull any punches talking about his goaltender’s performance after this one had wrapped up, and didn’t commit to a starter for Game 4.

“Yes, we need more saves,” Knoblauch said. “Tonight I felt like that, with Picks going in the third period. Defence, along with goaltending, is very important to winning hockey games, especially in the long term. It’s got to be better.

“I’m not committing to [starting Skinner], or making a decision right now. Obviously, it’s pretty emotional after a loss. We’ll get together tomorrow as a staff, and we’ll make that decision.”

With the loss, the Oilers now trail this series 2-1. They’ll look to get things evened back up in Game 4, set to take place Tuesday at 7:30 pm MT.

Colton PankiwColton Pankiw
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