VANCOUVER — If they didn’t already know, the Edmonton Oilers discovered Wednesday who they’re playing. Everybody did.
The Vancouver Canucks, widely dismissed like spam from your inbox ahead of their series with Edmonton, did what they have done since the National Hockey League season began by stunning the Oilers (and probably a lot of other people) by winning 5-4 in Game 1 of the teams’ second-round playoff series.
And it wasn’t just that the Canucks won, although given the Stanley Cup tournament and all, that would have been enough.
It’s that Vancouver won by scoring four goals over the final 23 minutes to erase a 4-1 deficit. They scored three times in five minutes in the third period before Edmonton even managed a shot on net.
They won by limiting the mighty Oilers’ attack to 17 shots, only seven of which occurred in the final two periods. And they won while holding Connor McDavid without a shot and to just a single, secondary assist. Edmonton’s other megastar, Leon Draisaitl, had three shots and two assists but clearly was struggling through something physically over his modest 16:43 of ice time.
So, maybe this series is not a mere formality in the Oilers’ coronation as Canada’s last team standing.
“It’s character,” Canuck defenceman Nikita Zadorov said after scoring the tying goal on a slapshot with 6:13 remaining. “That shows the character inside the room. I think this team has been facing a lot of adversity throughout the year. . . a lot of adversity through the first round. And now this game shows us, too. We stick to it. A lot of guys stepped in individually and got us big goals.”
Almost universally, Canuck players will say they don’t care about the skepticism beyond their dressing room.
The Canucks were supposed to be a bubble team in the playoff race before the season, then won 50 games.
The soaring and scoring Nashville Predators were a popular pick to upset the Canucks in the playoffs’ first round, but managed only 12 goals and were eliminated in six games. As Vancouver went through three goalies.
Canuck players don’t listen to the outside noise. But they hear it.
“Some guys don’t even read the media,” Zadorov said. ”I mean, I do. It’s extra motivation. I see what they’re doing; (Edmonton) has two of the best players in the world on that side, and guys want to see them win.
“Every media person, every individual who ever works in the hockey industry, they have their own opinions. We can’t control them. We can control what we can control inside the room. It’s our work ethic. It’s showing up every day, working hard and playing for each other. If we keep doing that through the series, through the whole playoffs, good things will happen.”
“I think we’re in a good spot to be the underdog,” centre Elias Lindholm said. “Obviously, a lot of people didn’t think we would go through Nashville. You know, Nashville is one of the better teams since halfway through the season. But we like being the underdog. It’s fine. I think people in here know how good of a team we are. We don’t listen too much to the outside. I think this team is realizing that we have a shot.”
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And this shot isn’t merely beating the Oilers to advance to the Western Conference Final.
“I think all year, like I said, it’s a resilient group,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “Sometimes we’re not pretty. Sometimes things happen. But I just feel like it’s a real close group. This is when you need a close group, in these situations. I thought everybody did something to contribute. I don’t think we had any passengers tonight.”
The worst thing the Canucks did in Game 1 was take a penalty for too many players just 40 seconds after the opening faceoff when defencemen Ian Cole and Carson Soucy botched a line change. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins beautifully set up Zach Hyman on the power play as the Oilers went ahead 1-0 at 2:11.
Mattias Ekholm made it 2-0 at 15:01, a few seconds after Cole’s poorly-aimed clearance went straight to Draisaitl.
And despite the Canucks’ superior five-on-five play in the middle period, the deficit peaked at 4-1 when Oiler Cody Ceci’s slapshot skipped in off Cole at 12:26 and Hyman dribbled a shot through goalie Arturs Silovs pads at 13:11.
But Lindholm banked a centring pass off Oiler goalie Stuart Skinner’s stick at 17:01, and 9:38 into the final period J.T. Miller deftly chipped Brock Boeser’s shot-pass behind Skinner from an acute angle. Then Zadorov tied it on a drop pass from Teddy Blueger, before Conor Garland won it for Vancouver at 14:26.
With a half-step on Edmonton defenceman Darnell Nurse, Garland pump-faked a shot from the right-wing circle, took another stride and then shot the puck through Skinner as the goalie moved to his left.
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“I’ve scored that goal a couple times in my career,” Garland said. “You try to open up the goalie and slide it through and see where it takes you. I thought our game was pretty good throughout the night. Just when they start going in, obviously you get your confidence.”
Silovs’ best save came with 13 seconds from the end against Draisaitl’s back-side one-timer as the Oilers attacked six-on-five. Edmonton’s first shot of the final period didn’t arrive until there were four minutes remaining.
“Every game is different,” Tocchet said. “It’s one game; you’ve got to think that way. Tonight, obviously we liked the way we defended. All year we were a good, defending team. We have something to fall back (on) if things don’t go our way. That’s sort of our foundation.”
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Each game may be different, but many of them are familiar for the Canucks. They scored two goals in 12 seconds in the third-period of Game 1 against the Predators to win 4-2. With their goalie on the bench, they scored twice in the final two minutes of Game 4 to force overtime in Nashville, then won 4-3.
“There’s a lot of belief in this group,” Zadorov reiterated. “You know, we’ve done it before against Nashville.”
The Canucks believe what they believe, and they don’t much care what other people say or write.
“We’re trying to win a Stanley Cup,” Garland explained. “That’s enough fuel for anybody. We’re all focused and we’re ready to play.”
The Oilers found out in Game 1. Game 2 is Friday.
