Vancouver Canucks Must Fix Minor Mistakes If They Want to Win Game 5 – Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

Despite the top seed heading into this game, the Vancouver Canucks were seen as underdogs in the second round of the Canadian Championship. The Canucks have been able to withstand the Edmonton Oilers and have found themselves tied at 2-2 after four games. But where Vancouver has hurt itself is in the little things; their little lapse in play was a big reason why they lost game 4 and they will need to fix this if they want to win game 5 and the series.

The Canucks Allowed Two Goals In The Final Minutes Of The Period

If you give Edmonton an inch, they’ll take a mile. Vancouver found it difficult when the team gave up a two-on-one break with less than a minute left in the second half and the Oilers capitalized Ryan Nugent-Hopkins a snipe that gave Edmonton a 2-0 lead in the second half. Noah Juulsen decided to go for the big thing on Mattias Ekholm and connected but the puck went the other way and Juulsen left Tyler Myers to fend for himself. This little play was what cost the Canucks this goal. If Vancouver had played it safe the rest of the time and not tried to make a big play, the team would have killed the clock and gone into the third period down just one goal. Conceding a goal late in the period completely demoralizes the team that gave up the goal and gives the team that scored the goal a huge boost heading into the break.

Then in the third period, Vancouver scored 2-0, the Canucks fought back with a goal by Conor Garland to bring them within one. After the late goal Dakota Joshua off Brock Boeser’s empty net to tie the game 2-2 with just over a minute left in regulation, Vancouver had all the momentum and would have been favorites to win the game in overtime. But the game did not reach the extra frame because the Canucks had another moment where they forgot their goal to elaborate and allowed the Oilers to find the offensive zone easily. Finally, they allowed an open pass to Evan Bouchard and gave him an open shot to score the game-winner. You would want to save there from Arturs Silovs as he was able to see the shot well. Still, the fact that Vancouver allowed the Oilers easy entry and easy passes in the zone is a recipe for disaster especially against an offensively talented team like Edmonton. Allowing goals like these two, going forward, will sink the Canucks in this series just like it did in game 4.

Canucks Take Unnecessary Penalties

Anyone with eyes can tell you how dangerous the Oilers’ power play is. Their team is currently working at a 46.7 conversion rate in these playoff games alone, which is unheard of during the lead-up. Vancouver needs to be aware of their offense and not take unnecessary penalties like they did in the first half, which led to Leon Draisaitl’s opening goal where he scored from almost the same spot as his Game 3 power play goal. Vancouver was able to kill two penalties late in the game that helped them stay in the final. tied the game. However, with the way it kills the power of the Oilers, the Canucks will need to be diligent and careful about putting sticks when trying to chase the puck or when trying to lift the enemy.

Related: Canucks Let Golden Chance Slip Against Oilers in Game 4

Vancouver still has a good chance to win this series and take down the offensive monster known as the Edmonton Oilers. But if they continue to make these mistakes – which may be minor on paper like bad penalties or last-minute goals but are actually serious – the Oilers will pounce on them like a predator. If Vancouver cleans up those parts of their game, they could see themselves in the Western Conference Final.