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2023-24 WCSF: Canucks vs Oilers

Phil
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Who wins?  

14 members have voted

  1. 1. Well?

    • Canucks in 4
      0
    • Canucks in 5
      0
    • Canucks in 6
      3
    • Canucks in 7
      2
    • Oilers in 4
      1
    • Oilers in 5
      4
    • Oilers in 6
      1
    • Oilers in 7
      3

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Phil BSBH Legend

Phil

Posted
Posted

BSBH Game Day Thread Logo

(1P) Vancouver Canucks vs. (2P) Edmonton Oilers

Screenshot 2024-05-06 at 9.51.54 AM.png

REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS:

Canucks: 50-23-9, 109 points; defeated Nashville Predators 4-2 in the first round

Oilers: 49-27-6, 104 points; defeated Los Angeles Kings in the first round

SEASON SERIES:

VAN 4-0-0, EDM 0-4-0

 

GAME BREAKERS:

Canucks: Quinn Hughes, the Canucks captain, had a breakout season with 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists), the most among NHL defensemen, in 82 games. Hughes is a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the League’s best defenseman, along with Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche. Hughes is an amazing talent and dominant at both ends of the ice. The Predators were physical with him in the first round but were unable to knock him off his game, and he had five assists in six games.

 

Oilers: Leon Draisaitl had another impressive playoff series with 10 points (five goals, five assists) in five games. As impressive as the forward was offensively, it was his defensive play that stood out. Draisaitl was part of the penalty kill that did not give up a goal to Los Angeles in 12 opportunities. He also won 57.4 percent of his face-offs. Draisaitl had a strong regular season with 106 points (41 goals, 65 assists) in 81 games, but he really shines in the playoffs. In 54 playoff games, Draisaitl has 87 points (36 goals, 51 assists).

 

GOALTENDING:

Canucks: Silovs saved the Canucks with Demko and DeSmith injured, finishing with a 1.70 goals-against average and .938 save percentage. Vancouver is confident Silovs can continue to do the job if needed. The 23-year-old played most of the season with Abbotsford of the American Hockey League, where he was 16-11-6 with a 2.74 GAA, .907 save percentage and four shutouts in 34 games.

 

Oilers: Stuart Skinner considers himself a different goaltender than he was a year ago, getting the start for the Oilers in the playoffs as a rookie. Skinner is confident and more composed this season, and he displayed his growth in the first round. Skinner overcame a few bad bounces in Game 1 and shaky moments in Game 2 to shut the door in the next two games. He gave up one goal in Game 3 and earned his first playoff shutout in Game 4, both victories, before helping Edmonton to a 4-3 win in Game 5 to end the series. Skinner had a 2.59 GAA and .910 save percentage in the first round, significantly better numbers than the 3.68 GAA and .883 save percentage he had in 12 playoff games last season.

 

X FACTORS:

Canucks: Elias Pettersson may be seeing a lot of Draisaitl in the series as Vancouver’s second-line center and will be counted on to perform well on both sides of the puck. Pettersson had three assists in six games against Nashville and assisted on the winning goal in Game 6 after intercepting a clearing attempt along the boards. Pettersson was minus-2 in the series and likely will have to be better against Edmonton. Pettersson had 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games this season and has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 23 playoff games. His play in this series will go a long way toward determining how Vancouver fares.

 

Oilers: Mattias Ekholm’s all-around game is crucial to Edmonton's hopes of making a Stanley Cup run. The Oilers and Kings each scored 12 goals at 5-on-5 in the first round, with Edmonton making quick work of Los Angeles because of its special teams. Ekholm was held to one assist in five games, and the defenseman’s shot-attempts differential (minus-16) will need to be more like it was in the regular season (plus-509; fourth in the NHL) for the Oilers to defeat the Canucks and even more daunting opponents in the following rounds. Ekholm had NHL career highs in goals (11), points (45), rating (plus-44; third in the NHL) and shots on goal (177) in the regular season. -- Pete Jensen

 

WILL WIN IF:

Canucks: They can keep McDavid (12 points; one goal, 11 assists in five first-round games) and Draisaitl in check and play at even strength as much as possible. The Canucks also will have to be better on the man-advantage against a team that did not give up a power-play goal in the first round. Silovs is going to have to be outstanding and steal a game or two if he has to play in place of Demko and DeSmith. Forwards Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, along with Hughes, will have to continue driving the offense.

 

Oilers: They can continue to draw penalties and score on the power play at an impressive rate. The Canucks were not able to generate much offensively in the first round, scoring 13 goals in six games. The Oilers scored 22 goals in five games. If Skinner outplays whoever is in net at the other end, Edmonton will have an excellent chance of moving on to the Western Conference Final.

 

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Pete BSBH Legend

Pete

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9 minutes ago, Morphinity 2.0 said:

Oilers in 4. Canucks are banged up, not playing super well, and have like their janitor playing in net. 

If the Oilers couldn't sweep the Kings I don't see how they sweep Vancouver. 

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Karan BSBH Legend

Karan

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Canucks offense really struggled to mount anything against Nashville and with their goalie injuries (looks like it's going to be Silovs to start the series), I don't see them winning more than a couple games. They'd need a fully healthy Demko and their big guns firing to take down the Oilers who seem to be rolling right now. So, Oilers in 6. 

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Ozzy BSBH Legend

Ozzy

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7 hours ago, Karan said:

Ballsy move by Tocchet keeing Silovs in at 4-1 and letting him battle back and the team rally around him. 

 

I thought he was gonna pull him too.  Especially after that 4th goal.  I still can't see how Edmonton fucked this one away!

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Albatrosss BSBH Legend

Albatrosss

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10 hours ago, Karan said:

Ballsy move by Tocchet keeing Silovs in at 4-1 and letting him battle back and the team rally around him. 

But who is he goign to pull him for?  they have no one

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