Oilers hold off late surge from Canucks, win Game 7, 3-2 Oilers move on to face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final

In Vancouver, the Canucks could not get the3ir offense on track on Monday night. They had a total of two shots on goal in the first period, and a total of five in the third period, and lost Game 7 to the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2. “This team brought respect back to this city and this jersey, let’s face it,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “There’s no quit in this team. I’m really proud of the guys.”

The Oilers will now face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.

“It’s exciting to beat a great Vancouver team,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “They’re a really great team. It wasn’t too long ago, a couple of months ago, we were sitting here doing an interview talking about losing 8-1 (in the season opener). They had our number and it feels good to come out on top. It was a tight series, a passionate series, both fan bases going crazy. It’s fun to come out on top.”

Stuart Skinner made 15 saves on in the win.

After a scoreless opening stanza, the Oilers broke out on top with a goal from Cody Ceci. He scored off a long-range shot from the above the right circle for a 1-0 lead at 1:18 of the middle frame.

The Oilers felt some life, and kept the pressure on with Zach Hyman deflected a shot by Evan Bouchard form nearly the same spot as the Ceci goal for a 2-0 advantage at 5:50.

At 15:22, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put home a rebound of a shot form Bouchard, again from atop the right circle3, scoring off a power play for a 3-0 lead headed to the third period.

“It’s something you kind of dream of as a kid (scoring in Game 7),” Nugent-Hopkins said. “It truly hasn’t sunk in yet that it’s here because you’re so focused on playing, but my brother and I and kids in the neighborhood, hours on end playing road hockey, and I’m definitely proud to do it with this group.

“I’m just happy to get the win, but it’s cool to do it here.”

The Canucks were outshot, 27-12 through the first 40 minutes of play. They had only two shots on goal in the first period.

“It’s something that we take so much pride in all season and this is why, because we know that it can make the difference in games like this,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “Power play has got to show up and score some timely goals, and the PK has got to stop them. We got so many great killers, guys that can do the job on a power play, so it can be the difference-maker and we’re proud that it was tonight.”

In the third period, the Canucks finally broke through on a marker form Connor Garland at 11:27. He scored after a turnover by the Oilers trying to breakout form the left corner of their own zone. Garland collected the puck in the left circle, and snapped home a wrister from the slot.

“We weren’t going to go quietly,” Garland said. “We felt like we had a chance. It’s hard to play with the lead in the playoffs. Human nature kicks in. Nobody wants to be the guy to make a mistake and sometimes teams sit back, and we knew we were going to get our looks, just had to execute. Just one shot short.”

The Canucks closed the gap to 3-2 on a strike by Filip Hronek at 15:23. He scored on a tip in of a shot form the point by Quinn Hughes.

“Hard-fought game, hard-fought series. We were a bounce away,” Vancouver’s J.T. Miller said. “I just love this team, man. I just love that we don’t give up ever. It’s a good sign.”

That was as close as the Canucks would get. They ran out time in a 3-2 loss.

Brock Boeser was a scratch with an apparent injury.

Arturs Silovs made 26 saves in the loss, he was betrayed by a lack of offensive support in the deciding game.

“‘Arty’ played his [butt] off for us,” Tocchet said. “What a playoff for that kid and his growth, so there’s a lot of positives out of that.”