Edmonton Oilers Force Deciding Game in Edmonton
Connor McDavid’s Two Goals Help Oilers Stave Off Elimination
Edmonton, Alberta – Connor McDavid scored twice and added an assist as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Tuesday night to extend their Western Conference semifinal series to a seventh game.
With the victory, the Oilers have forced a winner-take-all Game 7 in Edmonton on Thursday night. McDavid’s performance led the way for the Oilers, who were facing elimination after dropping the first three games of the series.
We knew we had to come out strong tonight, McDavid said. We weren’t going to go down without a fight.
Zack Kassian, Leon Draisaitl, and Darnell Nurse also scored for the Oilers, who outshot the Canucks 35-26. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added two assists, while Mike Smith made 25 saves in net.
The Oilers got on the board early, with McDavid scoring just 2:30 into the game. Kassian made it 2-0 with a goal at 10:53 of the first period.
The Canucks cut the lead to 2-1 on a goal by Elias Pettersson at 14:39 of the second period, but the Oilers regained a two-goal advantage when Draisaitl scored at 17:45.
Nurse made it 4-1 with a goal at 3:34 of the third period, and McDavid added an empty-net goal at 18:56 to seal the victory.
We’re not surprised by the way we played tonight, Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. We knew we had it in us all along.
The Canucks, who were looking to clinch their first series victory since 2011, were disappointed with the loss but vowed to bounce back in Game 7.
We didn’t play our best game tonight, Canucks captain Bo Horvat said. But we’re not going to give up. We’re going to come out fighting in Game 7.
Game 7 of the series will be played on Thursday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The winner will advance to the Western Conference Final to face the Colorado Avalanche.
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