5 Takeaways From Oilers’ Game 2 Overtime Victory Over Canucks

Skinner only had to stop three shots in overtime on Friday, and none were particularly dangerous, but there is no such thing as an easy save, given the pressure of the situation. Like his team in beating the Canucks, Skinner must feel at least a bit of relief by getting his first playoff OT victory.

Oilers Ride Stars to Victory

Knoblauch stacked his No. 1 line with Edmonton’s top three scorers on Friday, playing Draisaitl and Zach Hyman with McDavid.

Edmonton’s coach doubled down by frequently double-shifting the trio as the game wore on. By the end of overtime, Hyman had logged 25:48, Draisaitl had played 27:01, and McDavid was on the ice for 28:12. Between the three of them, Draisaitl, Hyman, and McDavid totaled 82 shifts; Edmonton’s other nine forwards combined for just 153 shifts.

Knoblauch took the same approach on the back end, too, leaning heavily on the defensive pairing of Bouchard and Ekholm, who played 29:49 and 25:42, respectively. Edmonton’s other four bluelines logged between 17:19 and 18:22 of ice time.

The coach’s top-heavy strategy ultimately paid off in Game 2, with members of either the No. 1 forward line or the top defensive unit accounting for all of Edmonton’s goals on Friday. But how far can the Oilers go this postseason without getting more contributions from deeper down their lineup? Half of Edmonton’s 30 goals in the playoffs thus far have come from either Hyman (nine) or Draisaitl (six), while only five Oilers have more than three points through the team’s first seven games in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

That’s not a model for sustained success, but the Oilers weren’t worried about winning 16 games on Friday. They just needed to do whatever it took to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole in the series. Knoblauch surely knows that for his team to win more games to advance to more series, the rest of his roster needs to contribute.

Draisaitl No Worse for Wear

On the other hand, seeing Draisaitl log such heavy minutes without any discernible difficulties had to be a relief for the Oilers fans, given he was questionable to play just hours before Game 2.

In Game 1, Draisaitl missed most of the second period and appeared to be in pain when he returned to play in the third period. He didn’t participate in practice on Thursday (May 9) or the optional pre-game skate on Friday. Little was known about what the issue was with Draisaitl, other than Knoblauch saying the forward was dealing with “cramping and equipment issues” in Game 1.

The status of the five-time All-Star had all of Oil Country on edge, but as it turned out, there was nothing to be worried about because if anything was bothering Draisaitl, it certainly didn’t hinder his play. He was on the ice for 29 shifts, most among all Oilers players, and factored in on all of Edmonton’s scoring, with one goal and three assists. McDavid was also in on all his team’s goals, recording three assists in addition to his third-period tally.

Oilers Refused to Lose

Perhaps most impressive about Edmonton’s Game 2 win was the resiliency displayed by the Oilers. They trailed three times on Friday, and each time, they responded by scoring the next goal: Pettersson gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead just 4:14 into the game before Draisaitl tied it up with a power-play goal at 10:56 of the first. Ekholm got the Oilers back on level terms with a goal at 1:16 of the second period, only 23 seconds after Boeser had put the Canucks ahead 2-1. After Zadorov scored late in the second period to restore Vancouver’s lead, McDavid came up with the clutch tying goal at 5:27 of the third period.

Through the first two games of the series, the most dangerous situation appears to be playing with the lead. Vancouver won Game 1 despite leading for just 5:34 compared to 51:36 for the Oilers, but it lost Game 2 despite leading for 14:25 while the Oilers never led. The team that has scored first has lost both games.

We’ll see if that trend continues when Edmonton and Vancouver reconvene for the pivotal Game 3 on Sunday (May 12) at Rogers Place.