Canucks Get a Proper Taste of Oilers Hockey in Game 2

Then, 4-on-4 hockey briefly favoured Vancouver again, much like it did in the first contest. In fact, Brock Boeser’s second-period tip-in as both teams had a player in the sin bin came very early at only 0:53. That, too, was like Game 1 when Dakota Joshua gave his side life with a second-period goal shortly after puck drop. Just before the clubs retired to their lockers, Nikita Zadorov, who scored a lovely Game 5 goal versus Nashville in the previous round, performed virtually the same feat again with a maddeningly tight angle wrist shot. 

But none of those massive moments helped Vancouver in the end. Knowing that going down 2-0 was not an option, the Oilers resembled their usual selves much more. Just as Rick Tocchet’s group explodes in short outbursts of offence with smart manoeuvres, Kris Knoblauch’s ensemble swirls around, endlessly passing the puck and creating chances until they inevitably put the biscuit in the basket. Whenever the Canucks scored, the Oilers returned to what helps them win games. In Game 1, Vancouver rightfully took advantage of an Edmonton team that took its foot off the gas. Game 2 reminded Vancouver of what Edmonton can do when it stays true to itself for 60 minutes and more.

No Love Lost Between Rivals

It’s not that Game 1 didn’t feature hits. It most certainly didn’t, with the Canucks landing 36 and the Oilers 33. But perhaps because the match developed in such a unique fashion, the hits aren’t what fans remembered most. That might not be the case for Game 2. This felt more like war, which was expected from a playoff series involving two very capable regional rivals. 

Zadorov continues to impress in this postseason. Beyond the nifty goal he scored in the second period, he “laid the body” more than once. He is turning out to be the great acquisition of 2023-24, a two-way player who can do more than play sound defence. He can intimidate.

To their credit, the Oilers didn’t exactly whither under such physicality. Although Evander Kane doesn’t nearly have the stature Zadorov is blessed with, he can rock it out with the best of them. He got into Quinn Hughes’ grill a few times, including a hit that, on another day, might have sent him to the penalty box.

Speaking of captain Hughes, he might have more than a few bruises to nurse on the plane to Edmonton. There was a strange moment in the second period when he and Connor McDavid – his opposite number, no less – got close to one another, and McDavid’s stick caught Hughes’ left cheek. Blood even trickled out. Much to the ire of Canucks faithful, no penalty was called. We are not going to speculate as to why that is. This is a professional publication, and we’ll leave the theories to the dark corners of social media. That said, it was a bad move by McDavid and normally should have seen him penalized. 

Pettersson, too, was flattened in the first period shortly after opening the scoring. Darnell Nurse caught him along the boards behind Skinner’s net and let him know that his presence was unwanted. It was a particularly rough hit that Pettersson could not have known was coming, not of that intensity considering his back was turned from the play. 

It remains to be seen whether the referees determine that this is how the series will be called or if they acknowledge that the dubious hits merit punishment. 

Game 3 promises to be the most intriguing so far from a Canucks perspective. The coziness of playing at home will be absent. Even then, the Oilers have stolen home-ice advantage by playing to their strengths in Game 2. If they can play their style in Vancouver, they can obviously replicate that in front of their rabid fanbase. The Canucks will need to make every opportunity count. It could so easily have been 2-0 for them in the series, but withstanding extensive Edmonton pressure is easier said than done. It’s a good thing the Canucks have proven to be road warriors because they could be in for the fight of their lives on Sunday.