Phil Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 (1P) Vancouver Canucks vs. (2P) Edmonton Oilers 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. MORE: https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-edmonton-oilers-playoff-series-preview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Edmonton in 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 I went with Vancouver in my bracket, but that was before Demko was injured. Silovs is decent, but you need more than decent to stop McDrai and the rest. Oilers in 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morphinity 2.0 Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Oilers in 4. Canucks are banged up, not playing super well, and have like their janitor playing in net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karan Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsm7302 Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Oilers in 5. McDusty paving his way to the silver chalice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 10 minutes ago, jsm7302 said: Oilers in 5. McDusty paving his way to the silver chalice. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morphinity 2.0 Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 52 minutes ago, Pete said: If the Oilers couldn't sweep the Kings I don't see how they sweep Vancouver. They were just warming up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Go Oil! Edmonton in five. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 6 hours ago, Pete said: Edmonton in 7. Lets go with our boy JT, Pete!! I got the 'Nuks in 7! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karan Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 Nice going Oilers lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasRanger Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 Vancouver outright stole this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karan Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 Ballsy move by Tocchet keeing Silovs in at 4-1 and letting him battle back and the team rally around him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillyb Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 No fucking way they won this game. I went to sleep after the 2nd period, I knew I should have stayed tuned in. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albatrosss Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe Froman Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 I went to bed early in the 3rd. Almost couldn't believe my eyes when I checked the score this morning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe Froman Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Hat trick for Boeser. Still only the first period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karan Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Silovs steals one, this kid is turning into quite the story if the Canucks somehow take down the Oilers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siddious Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 How many teeth did McDavid lose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Call me crazy, but I'm really liking the 'Nuks. I keep finding myself rooting for JT Miller. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillyb Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 40 minutes ago, siddious said: How many teeth did McDavid lose? That cross check didn’t look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morphinity 2.0 Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Such a good series. Hope it goes 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 33 minutes ago, Ozzy said: Call me crazy, but I'm really liking the 'Nuks. I keep finding myself rooting for JT Miller. Same, for Miller and for paving McDavid's way out of Edmonton. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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