*Photo from Clutch Points*
Edmonton wins series 4-3
Game over, series over. Evan Bouchard had two assists, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vancouver Canucks with a 3-2 victory Monday night in Vancouver.
It was the Oilers who prevailed in game 7, sending the Canucks packing with two straight wins after trailing the series 3-2. The Oilers are now the only Canadian team left in contention, trying to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993.
This was a meaningful game for Nugent-Hopkins as well, picking up a two point game in not only the biggest game of the season so far for the Oilers, but doing it just 20 minutes from his hometown in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Nugent-Hopkins said after the game that "It's something you kind of dream of as a kid. It truly hasn't sunk in yet that it's here because you're so focused on playing, but my brother and I and kids in the neighborhood, hours on end playing road hockey, and I’m definitely proud to do it with this group. I'm just happy to get the win, but it's cool to do it here."
After a scoreless first period, Cody Ceci scored his second goal of the playoffs 1:16 into the second period, giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead. Zach Hyman doubled the lead on his 11th goal of the playoffs, assisted by Nugent-Hopkins and Bouchard. Nugent-Hopkins then scored on the power play to make it 3-0 with Bouchard and Leon Draisaitl getting assists.
It was the 3rd period where the Canucks climbed back into the game. Conor Garland cut the deficit to 3-1 when he scored 11:27 into the period, scoring unassisted. Filip Hronek scored at the 15:24 mark of the period to make it 3-2 game with assists going to Quinn Hughes and Elias Lindholm. Vancouver couldn't score again as the Oilers clamped down to secure the win.
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said of the series win that "It's exciting to beat a great Vancouver team. They're a really great team. It wasn't too long ago, a couple of months ago, we were sitting here doing an interview talking about losing 8-1. They had our number and it feels good to come out on top. It was a tight series, a passionate series, both fan bases going crazy. It's fun to come out on top."
Making his second straight start after a two game breather for the Oilers was Stuart Skinner, who didn't have to work too hard in this one. Skinner stopped 15 of the 17 shots the Canucks sent his way, good for a .882 save percentage.
Drawing the start for the Canucks for the 10th straight game was Arturs Silovs, who couldn't keep the Canucks season going. Silovs turned aside 26 out of the 29 shots on goal the Oilers offense had, posting a .897 save percentage.
Garland said of the loss that "We weren't going to go quietly. We felt like we had a chance. It's hard to play with the lead in the playoffs. Human nature kicks in. Nobody wants to be the guy to make a mistake and sometimes teams sit back, and we knew we were going to get our looks, just had to execute. Just one shot short."
With the win, the Oilers have a western conference finals matchup on tap against the Dallas Stars, with game one set for Thursday night in Dallas. The Canucks head home for the summer, looking to build upon a division championship season this year.
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