Instant Reaction: Canucks make things interesting late but fall 3-2 to Oilers in game seven

The intensity was high in this one to start, as we all expected. Arturs Silovs made the first great save of the game when he sprawled to stop Brett Kulak on a point-blank opportunity off of a rebound.

The Conor Garland-Elias-Lindholm-Dakota Joshua trio turned in some strong shifts to start the game, and Elias Pettersson and JT Miller were cooking together early. The first five minutes of game seven were absolutely electric, to say the least.

Ilya Mikheyev had the Canucks’ best chance against Stuart Skinner early on when JT Miller sprung him in alone on a breakaway, but of course, Mikheyev mishandled the puck on the dangle and put the puck wide.

The refs were letting the two sides play early on, and the result was high-energy hockey. The first penalty of the game came with just under four minutes to go in the first, when Ryan McLeod was assessed a double minor for high-sticking Elias Pettersson.

This was a crucial moment for the Canucks, and our first chance to see their power play without Brock Boeser. And it was awful.

The Canucks spent the next four minutes by entering the zone with no momentum or control, giving up the puck to the aggressive Edmonton penalty killers and repeating the process all over again. It was maddening to watch, truly.

A theme from the first period for the Canucks was missing the net. Unlike in game six, they were more willing to shoot on Skinner, but they continued to miss the net and squander any chance at scoring the first goal of this game.

It was a rough opening 20 minutes for the home team, but they entered the second period tied at zero.

The second period was even more disastrous to start, as Tyler Myers senselessly iced the puck and gave the Oilers an offensive zone draw that Edmonton wasted little time in converting on as Cody Ceci let go of a perfect slap shot that beat Silovs over his left shoulder.

 

Dakota Joshua took a tripping penalty on the next shift, giving this game a real chance to go from bad to worse. And they nearly did, if not for Arturs Silovs, who absolutely robbed Leon Draisaitl.

Silovs was the only reason the Canucks were still in this game, but on their 23rd shot of the game, Edmonton managed to push their lead to two.

The Canucks finally started to mount some strong shifts together and get some shots on Skinner, but their momentum came to a screeching halt when Sam Lafferty hauled down Brett Kulak to give the Oilers another power play. This time, it was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring the Oilers’ third goal.

The Canucks entered the third 20 minutes away from their season coming to an end, and to this point, it didn’t really seem like they cared.

Connor Brown took a puck over glass penalty, sending the Canucks to their third power play of the game. This one was almost as atrocious as the others, only this time, they got some shots on goal.

Conor Garland was one of the only Canucks who showed up tonight, so it was fitting that he was the Canuck who opened the scoring for the home side.

This team, and this building suddenly had a pulse.

The Canucks continued to press, and Filip Hronek pulled them within one when he scored the first playoff goal of his career.

This team continues to do what they’ve made a habit of in this postseason: refusing to go down quietly.

The Canucks continued to press but the Oilers locked things down after Kris Knoblauch called a timeout.

In the end, we’re left asking the same question we’ve asked many times during these playoffs — what would the result have been if the Canucks had shown up for a full 60 instead of just the final stretch of the game?

And that’s the big question as the Canucks’ season comes to an end, as the Edmonton Oilers knock off the Canucks in game seven by a final score of 3-2.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

Be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver moments after the final horn LIVE on YouTube!