Ryan Nugent-Hopkins contributed a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3:2 in Game 7 of the NHL Western Conference Second Round at Rogers Arena on Monday.
Zach Hyman, who scored his NHL-leading 11th goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Leon Draisaitl, extending his postseason point streak to 12 games with an assist, also played key roles for Edmonton, the No. 2 seed from the Pacific Division. Stuart Skinner made 15 saves in goal, while Evan Bouchard added two assists.
In the losing effort, Conor Garland and Filip Hronek scored for Vancouver in the third period. Arturs Silovs stopped 26 shots for the Canucks, who entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed from the Pacific. Brock Boeser, their top scorer with seven postseason goals, was sidelined due to an undisclosed injury.
Edmonton dominated the first period with a 13-2 shot advantage but couldn’t get past Silovs. The Canucks failed to capitalize on a four-minute power play late in the period.
The Oilers finally broke through early in the second period when Cody Ceci scored at 1:16, followed by Hyman’s goal at 5:50. Nugent-Hopkins added a power-play goal at 15:22, assisted by Draisaitl.
Garland pulled Vancouver within one at 11:27 of the third period, and Hronek made it 3-2 at 15:24 with a one-timer from the blue line.
Next, the Oilers will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. Dallas advanced by eliminating the Colorado Avalanche in six games, with Game 1 of their best-of-7 series set for Thursday in Dallas.
As of recently Edmonton Oilers made it only twice to the NHL Western Conference, in 2006 and 2022.