Wins it at 5:38; McDavid, Draisaitl each has 4 points for Edmonton

R2, Gm2: Oilers @ Canucks Recap

By Kevin Woodley

NHL.com Independent Correspondent

May 11, 2024

VANCOUVER -- Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime, and the Edmonton Oilers evened their Western Conference Second Round series against the Vancouver Canucks with a 4-3 win in Game 2 at Rogers Arena on Friday.

Bouchard’s shot from the right circle deflected in off the stick blade of Canucks defenseman Ian Cole, ending a game dominated by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl after they were reunited on the Oilers’ top line.

McDavid and Draisaitl each had a goal and three assists, and Stuart Skinner made 16 saves for the Oilers, the No. 2 seed from the Pacific Division.

“We hung in there all night,” said McDavid, the Edmonton captain. “Everybody battled so hard to get this one. This was a big one. It feels good to be tied going home.”

EDM@VAN R2, Gm2: Bouchard's shot gets deflected in off the defense for OT winner

Draisaitl, who was a game-time decision after missing parts of the second period in Game 1 and not practicing Thursday with an undisclosed injury, played with McDavid on the top line for a full game for the first time in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. Draisaitl has a point in all seven playoff games, multiple points in six of them and 16 points overall (six goals, 10 assists), one behind McDavid (two goals, 15 assists) for the NHL lead.

“They're obviously two of the best players in the League, but it's their work ethic,” Oilers forward Warren Foegele said. “I know. In the summer I train with them and they're always competing, always waking up early and they work on their craft. They don't just show up in the regular season. They show up for the playoffs.”

It was a bounce-back game for McDavid, who had an assist in Game 1 but was held without a shot in a playoff game for the first time in his 55 NHL playoff games to that point.

“That's what makes him probably the best player to ever play, right?” Draisaitl said. “It's his will to push himself to more and to be better and there's no one out there like him. I think we can all agree on that and obviously, maybe he wasn't happy with his with his game in Game 1, but you can count on him coming back with a strong effort and [I'm] just so proud of how much work he puts in.”

Nikita Zadorov had a goal and an assist, J.T. Miller had two assists, and Arturs Silovs made 27 saves for the Canucks, who are the No. 1 seed from the Pacific.

“They were the better team today,” said Miller, whose line matched up against McDavid and Draisaitl most of the game. “They outplayed us. We had a good opportunity to steal a game, but they had a lot of time in our end. We just didn't win enough battles on the wall as a group, and we just have to be better in that area and we won't make their night as easy.”

EDM@VAN R2, Gm2: Zadorov wires one in from ridiculous angle

Game 3 of the best-of-7 series will be in Edmonton on Sunday.

“They're good players, but we made it easy on them,” Miller said of McDavid and Draisaitl. “We didn't win our battles and they were able to play in the [offensive] zone, and once they get in there, they're very hard to get it off of. We just didn't win those battles we normally win. We were one and done all night and started in the [defensive] zone a lot and stayed in the [defensive] zone.”

McDavid tied it 3-3 on a breakaway at 5:27 of the third period after Carson Soucy tried to make a hit on Zach Hyman inside the Oilers blue line. McDavid skated onto the loose puck as Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers reached for it, then raced down the ice before slowing down in tight and shooting just under Silovs’ blocker.

“I was happy with the first (period), I was happy with the second, but definitely the third was our best,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We just pressured. I thought we simplified the game and showed more urgency than we had in Game 1.”

EDM@VAN R2, Gm2: McDavid makes stellar play in alone, flings in equalizer

Elias Pettersson scored his first goal of the playoffs to put the Canucks ahead 1-0 on the power play 4:14 into the first period, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Miller to the bottom of the left circle.

“Nice to get on the scoreboard,” Pettersson said. “We moved the puck well.”

Draisaitl tied it 1-1 at 10:56 on the power play, finishing a give-and-go with McDavid from inside the right circle with a shot past Silovs’ blocker.

“He's an amazing player, one of the best players in the world, the best player in the world a lot of nights,” McDavid said. “And tonight was one of those nights.”

Brock Boeser scored 53 seconds into the second period to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead, deflecting a Soucy point shot down and under Skinner’s pads from the high slot with the teams playing 4-on-4. But Mattias Ekholm tied it 2-2 at 1:16 with the teams still skating 4-on-4, scoring on a quick shot over Silovs’ glove from the left hash marks after a Draisaitl pass from the goal line bounced to him off McDavid’s skate.

Zadorov put Vancouver ahead 3-2 with 1:43 left in the second period on a wrist shot off the rush from the bottom of the left circle that went over the right shoulder of Skinner as he leaned into his post. It was Zadorov’s fourth goal of the playoffs after he scored five in 54 regular-season games.

Edmonton took over in the third period, however, outshooting Vancouver 15-2.

“I think they had 13 5-on-5 chances,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. "Too many guys are flipping pucks out when we didn't have to. That's only the thing I didn't like about our team in the third. I guess that's playoff experience. You have the puck, you have someone on your back, skate with it. Keep your heart rate down. I just felt soon as somebody got it, they flipped it. Like everybody. I think there were plays to be made. And that's what happens."

NOTES: Edmonton forward Adam Henrique played 11:38 after missing Game 1 with an undisclosed injury. He moved down to the second line after being the left wing on the top line with McDavid in the first round. … McDavid has an assist in all seven playoff games, tying the Oilers record set by Mark Messier in 1989. … Draisaitl’s goal was his 90th in the playoffs in his 56th game, making him the third-fastest player to reach that milestone, behind Wayne Gretzky (43 games) and Mario Lemieux (45 games). … Quinn Hughes had an assist, his 20th in 25 career playoff games, becoming the fastest Canucks defenseman to reach the mark and the third-fastest ever, behind Gary Suter (23 games) and Adam Fox (24 games).