Holding onto leads has been an issue for the Edmonton Oilers during their Second Round matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. In Game 1, they held a 2-0 and 4-1 lead, but four unanswered goals by the Canucks gave them a huge comeback on their home ice.
In Game 4, the Edmonton Oilers got off to a 2-0 lead again only to see it squandered in the third period. But, a goal from Evan Bouchard with 39 seconds remaining in the third period sent the Edmonton fans home happy.
In a pivotal Game 5 in Vancouver, it was the Oilers who scored first once again. They led 2-1 at the end of the first period but didn’t score the remainder of the game, as the Canucks took a 3-2 series lead with a 3-2 victory.
After a 5-1 shellacking in Game 6, the teams returned to Vancouver for the winner-take-all Game 7. As the script has been all series, it was the Oilers who got on the board first. They scored the first three goals of the game, all in the second period, putting them 20 minutes away from a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
Naturally, the Oilers were going to make things sweaty. Their three-goal lead shrunk to two with 4:36 remaining in the contest. That is when coach Kris Knoblauch opted to call a timeout, which superstar Connor McDavid praised.
“I thought it was a great timeout,” McDavid told reporters. “Even Darnell [Nurse], he was getting guys together and showing great leadership. That’s what he is, a great leader. He’s big in this room and showed great leadership there bringing everybody in. … It just settled everyone down and we were able to close it out.”
With all the pressure on the Edmonton Oilers, they were able to calm things down for the final 4:36 and take home the victory. After blowing so many leads during the series, it was a major relief to hold onto the most important one that helped them advance.
The Oilers will now be taking on the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. It is the second time in three seasons Edmonton is playing for a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, while it is the second consecutive for Dallas.
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