Canucks down Oilers, 3-1, go five points clear atop Pacific Oilers more ordinary without McDavid in lineup - Update to follow

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In Edmonton, the Vancouver Canucks hung a 3-1 loss on the Oilers on Saturday night.

The Oilers might have closed to within one point of the Canucks for first atop the Pacific Division with a victory in regulation.

The Canucks leave town five points clear of the Oilers with two games to go. The Oilers have three games to play.

 Casey DeSmith made 32 saves in the win.

The Canucks improved to 49-22-9.

Vancouver won all four matches with Edmonton this season.

Vancouver moved five points ahead of Edmonton for first in the Pacific Division. Vancouver has two games remaining, Edmonton has three.

The Canucks took a 1-0 lead in the opening stanza on a strike by Sam Lafferty with 16 seconds left in the period. He scored off a shot from the right circle.

In the middle frame, Vancouver’s Pius Suter  pushed the advantage to 2-0 at 11:00, scoring of a deflection.

The Oilers dropped to 48-25-6.

Evander Kane trimmed the deficit to 2-1 when he scored at 17:48 of the second period, scoring off a tip in.

With Edmonton skating with an extra attacker, the Canucks got insurance on an empty-net  strike by Dakota Joshua at 18:13 for the 3-1 final count on the scoreboard.

Stuart Skinner made 24 saves in the loss.

Connor McDavid was a scratch for the third straight game due to a lower-body injury.

He remains listed as day-to-day.