In Edmonton, the Vancouver Canucks showed off why they are the top seed in the Western Conference on Sunday night. 
Elias Lindholm scored his second power play goal of the game at 17:35 of the middle frame to give the Canucks a 4-2 lead headed to the third period.
That ended up being the game winner when the Oilers’ Evan Bouchard scored at 18:44 of the third period to tighten up the last 76 seconds of regulation in a 43 win to Vancouver, and a 2-1 series lead.
Arturs Silovs made 42 saves in the win, a career-high.
“I felt confident. The guys got my back in Game 1 (a 5-4 win), so I had to have them today,” Silovs said. “Everyone is resilient, blocking shots, and really high-scoring chances they had, and our guys managed to block a lot of them, and it’s a big credit to them, too.”
Game 4 is set for Edmonton on Tuesday.
“We just grinded it out. They threw a lot at us and they grinded it out,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “We had some really good efforts from some individuals. They had a push and we did a nice job in the end there.”
Brock Boeser also hit for a double in the win.
Mattias Ekholm staked the Oilers to a 1-0 lead at 5:37 of the opening stanza. He scored off a shot form the right circle.
Lindholm potted his first of the game, on the power play, at 8:45, scoring off a tip in of a shot by Boeser.
“We didn’t want to defend that much,” Lindholm said. “In the first period, we played well, but when we get a lead like that, we were talking and we wanted to attack more. But that’s just the way this game went.
“I think everyone bought in and did their job and blocked shots and did whatever it took to win this game, so it was huge.”
Boeser then hit for his double to give the Canucks a 3-1 lead.
Leon Draisaitl scored in the middle frame to trim the deficit to 3-2. He scored at 3:36, he scored off a power from the sharp angle.
“We’re creating enough looks,” Draisaitl said. “But obviously they’re not falling right now or we’re not doing a good enough job of being hard in front and banging them home.”
The win belonged to Silovs.
“The kid’s given us games. It’s a big stage and he’s not blinking,” Tocchet said of Silovs. “He’s coming in every day and he’s working hard.
“He’s a low-maintenance guy. I don’t really see him around too much and he’s played in some pressure games, and this is good for him.”
Stuart Skinner got the start for the Oilers, he made 11 saves, surrendering all four Vancouver goals, before getting the hook.
Calvin Pickard made three saves in relief.
“We need more saves. Tonight, obviously I felt like that with ‘Picks’ going in in the third period,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Tonight’s one that he would like to have back, and we’ll see what he’s got in the future, whether that’s Game 4 or Game 5 or whatever it is. But we’ll be seeing Stu again, and I have no doubt that he’ll respond and play well.”
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