Robert Tychkowski

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : McDavid and Draisaitl: When it matters most, the big dogs eat McDavid and Draisaitl: When it matters most, the big dogs eat After a quiet Game 1, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl put on a show in Game 2 to even the series at 1-1 heading back to Edmonton Author of the article: Article content What was it Mike Tyson liked to say: Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Advertisement 2 Article content McDavid and Draisaitl: When it matters most, the big dogs eat Back to video Well, the Vancouver Canucks vision for the future of this series just ran into the eye-watering, nose-busting fist of fury that is Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in high gear. Article content And, in seeing it for the first time this season Friday night, the Canucks also came face-to-face with their own post-season mortality. They either figure out a way to stop these two guys or come up with a spectacular Plan B because if the carnage they inflicted in Game 2 is any indication, Edmonton's two best players might just be getting started. In a game the Oilers absolutely could not lose, the dynamic duo was virtually unstoppable. A goal and three assists for McDavid. A goal and three assists for Draisaitl. They both had a hand in every goal of a 4-3 overtime decision that saw them bury Vancouver under an avalanche of third-period pressure (shots were 15-2). Advertisement 3 Article content 1. Draisaitl from McDavid. 2. Mattias Ekholm from McDavid and Draisaitl. 3. McDavid from Draisaitl. 4. And Evan Bouchard from, checks notes, Draisaitl and McDavid. That was greatness, pure and simple. In a nasty, heated, high-pressure game in which the referees let everything go and the season was in danger of getting away from them for good, the big dogs ate. “They're hungry, they know what's at stake,” said defenceman Mattias Ekholm. “The credit should absolutely go to them, they hang onto the puck tremendously, they create chances… “I don't even know why I'm standing here convincing you they're the best players in the world, I just think they just are and they keep on showing it every night.” We take it for granted, sometimes, the toughness and determination behind that skill, but ask Toronto what it's like when your best guys shy away when it matters most. In their seven-game series with Boston, Toronto's so-called core-four counted for 12 points. Edmonton's core four has 55. Advertisement 4 Article content McDavid has 17 in seven games. Draisaitl has 16. Hyman and Bouchard have 11 each. After a below average Game 1, McDavid held Game 2 in the palm of his hand. “That's what makes him probably the best player to ever play, his will to push himself to more and be better,” Draisaitl said of his captain. “There is no one out there like him.” Draisaitl, meanwhile, wasn't even sure he'd be able to make it to the starting gate and then he shakes off the pain to deliver another evening of playoff lore. The same guy who averaged two points a game over six weeks on a high ankle sprain took control of this game and wouldn't let it go. “He's a great player,” said McDavid. “He's an amazing player. One of the best players in the world. The best player in the world on a lot of nights and tonight was one of those nights. He was great.” Advertisement 5 Article content How close was Draisaitl to not playing after what is believed to be back trouble shut him down for a while in Game 1? Head coach Kris Knoblauch said he didn't know for sure till after the pre-game warm up. “We really didn't know,” said Knoblauch. “When he came off he confirmed he was ready to play … and, boy, did he ever play. I didn't expect him to come out and perform like that. “He's done this multiple times. The high ankle sprain a couple of years ago and you look at his all-time points in the playoffs (93 points in 56 games). It says quite a bit about him. I know the players have a lot of respect for him. He plays his best when it's most difficult.” After five wins in a row over Edmonton dating back to October, the Canucks might have forgotten that the Oilers are a very different animal when McDavid and Draisaitl are at the top of their game. But now they know, and I can't imagine it's a fun problem to be dealing with heading back to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4. Advertisement 6 Article content Even Vancouver's coach admits that his team seemed a little rattled by Edmonton's top unit, which included Hyman on the wing and Ekholm and Bouchard on the points. “We were a little hot potato with the puck,” said Rick Tocchet. “Too many guys were flipping pucks out when they didn't have to. I guess that's playoff experience; if you have the puck and somebody's on your back, skate with it, keep your heart rate down. “There were plays to be made but we didn't give them anything to defend. If we're just going to flip pucks out and give it back to them, of course they're going to keep coming down your throats.” E-mail: [email protected] Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : McDavid and Draisaitl: When it matters most, the big dogs eat Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. 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The Edmonton Oilers outshot Vancouver 14-4 in the second period and 21-3 in third. That's 35-7, if you're scoring at home. Article content

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Edmonton Oilers on the ropes after Canucks win goaltending battle Edmonton Oilers on the ropes after Canucks win goaltending battle Author of the article: Article content The Edmonton Oilers outshot Vancouver 14-4 in the second period and 21-3 in third. That's 35-7, if you're scoring at home. Advertisement 2 Article content Edmonton Oilers on the ropes after Canucks win goaltending battle Back to video And they lost. Article content In case you were wondering how the goaltending battle went. In a series that's been all about one team imposing its will on the other, the Edmonton Oilers did almost everything they wanted to do against the Canucks Sunday night, only to find themselves staring down the edge of an all-too-familiar cliff. They're trailing 2-1 in their series and in need of some fast answers after Sunday's 4-3 loss to the stubborn Canucks. The biggest question right now is in net. The Canucks chased Oilers starter Stuart Skinner from the net after four goals on 15 shots through the first two periods as the Oilers' starter's save percentage dropped to .793 for the series (12 goals on 58 shots). This isn't a game you can hang entirely on the goalie, though. The Oilers got sloppy in their own end, couldn't find an even-strength goal in the first 58 minutes and relied so heavily on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl it wasn't funny (28:40 for McDavid, 28:02 for Draisaitl), which doesn't usually help a starting goalie out much. Advertisement 3 Article content Skinner wasn't bad, but he wasn't as good as Vancouver rookie Arturs Silovs, who made all the saves he should have made and then mixed in a handful that verged on robbery. After a second period in which the Oilers outshot Vancouver 14-4 and only came out of it 1-1, head coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Skinner (the fifth time Skinner's been pulled in the last 16 playoff games dating back to last season) and gave Calvin Pickard his first shot at slowing down the Canucks. Pickard hadn't played since the regular season finale on April 17. Tit for tat The first two games were decided by one team imposing its will on the other. Vancouver dominated the heart of Game 1, limiting the Oilers to without a shot on goal for over 22 minutes in a 5-4 win. The Oilers responded by swarming Vancouver in Game 2, outshooting them 15-2 in the third period of a 4-3 overtime decision. Advertisement 4 Article content This time it would be Edmonton wielding the heavy hand in Game 3, but Vancouver doing all the damage. This series has been all about responding to adversity and after Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl ran wild over Vancouver in Game 2, counting for eight points, Brock Boeser stepped up for Vancouver on Sunday. You want a big night from one of your leaders? How about two goals and an assist in the opening 20 minutes? In a statement period by the Canucks, Boeser found mesh at 8:45, 13:18 and 18:34 to turn Vancouver's 1-0 deficit into an ice-cold glass of water in the faces of everyone who thought the Oilers were in command of this series. Mattias Ekholm's goal to make it 1-0 Edmonton was his third straight game with a goal, the first Oilers defenceman to do that since Paul Coffey in 1985. E-mail: [email protected] Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Edmonton Oilers on the ropes after Canucks win goaltending battle Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

The Edmonton Oilers aren't going to win a Stanley Cup with the kind of goaltending they're getting. Article content

If they played Game 3 over again, with the Oilers outshooting Vancouver 14-4 in the second period, 22-3 in the third and hitting at least four goal

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Do Edmonton Oilers have Vancouver Canucks right where they want them? Do Edmonton Oilers have Vancouver Canucks right where they want them? Author of the article: Article content If they played Game 3 over again, with the Oilers outshooting Vancouver 14-4 in the second period, 22-3 in the third and hitting at least four goal posts, Edmonton wins about 7-2 and people are talking about wrapping the Canucks up in five games. Advertisement 2 Article content Do Edmonton Oilers have Vancouver Canucks right where they want them? Back to video It wasn't close. Neither was the meat of Game 2. Article content From that perspective, it's hard to suggest the Oilers have all that much to worry about in their second round series. Other than the fact they're trailing 2-1, they have a shaky goaltending situation to figure out, the offence is drying up and a loss Tuesday night pretty much ends their season. That part is a little worrisome. So it's a delicate mental balance the Oilers are walking between “steady as she goes,” and “something has to change.” “If those (post and chances) go in we're having a different conversation, if we have one more save we're probably having a different conversation,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “So, as a coach, I have to be careful not to overreact, making big changes when we just have to get a little bit better in one area.” Advertisement 3 Article content The law of averages suggests that if the Oilers keep controlling the play the way they have been through most of this series, the tide will eventually turn their way. If they keep up the pressure and get half decent goaltending, they'll be fine. But in the post-season fog of war, the analytics don't always have time to catch up with the hockey, and assuming the next game walks the same path as the last one is dangerous thinking. “I don't think we're going to rest on our laurels, on the fact we're outshooting them three-to-one or four-to-one,” said winger Evander Kane. “At the end of the day you can have as many shots as you want but what matters is on the scoreboard. “We have to bury some of the chances we have. We could have had seven or eight goals last game, but we didn't and we gave up too many and the result was the result.” Advertisement 4 Article content The Oilers rarely want for offence, but in the short sample size that is an NHL playoff series, even a brief slump can be fatal. Edmonton's forwards have just two five-on-five goals in three games and unless they bust out of that rut in Game 4 it's going to be a hard night. When you pump 45 shots on a third-string goalie, you should have more to show for it than a 4-3 loss and zero five-on-five goals. “They defend really well, they have big D men who hang around the net and we have to find a way to get there,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid . “We hit a couple of posts and things that maybe could have gone the other way, but ultimately we have to find a way to get to the net and get shots through. “It's just sticking with it, not being deterred, not being frustrated. There's nothing to be frustrated about. We're going to stick with it and keep plugging along and eventually it will come.” Advertisement 5 Article content If the Oilers are going to come back in this series it will take more than McDavid, Draisaitl and Zach Hyman finishing a couple more chances and Edmonton's goalie, whether it's Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard, making a few more stops. The Canucks are for real. They are deep, tough and relentless, a team built in head coach Rick Tocchet's own image. Unless more of Edmonton's players join the fight, winning three of the next four games seems unlikely. Five Edmonton forwards played fewer than 10 minutes in Game 3 and, as Tocchet said about some of his guys after a Game 2 loss, if you're not getting ice time it's for a reason. “Ultimately, as a player you have to be providing something,” said Knoblauch. “Is it offence, defence, physicality, an agitator? Everybody has to bring something to the party. Advertisement 6 Article content “We're looking at secondary scoring and guys playing with that edge and physicality and possibly putting the puck in the net. We have a lot of guys who can help out and we'll need it. If we're going to have success throughout the playoffs we're going to need more contributions.” It's not a great place that the Oilers are in but fortunately for them they are always at their best in this exact situation. Aside from the four-game sweep by Colorado two years ago, the Oilers are 9-2 in games after a playoff loss. With as much as there is riding on Game 4, you have to expect this will be the most dialled in Oilers team we've seen all year. “Not a comfortable situation to be in, you never want to be down in a series,” said McDavid. “But we've been in this situation before and always responded and I would expect us to do the same.” E-mail: [email protected] Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Do Edmonton Oilers have Vancouver Canucks right where they want them? Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

The way the Edmonton Oilers had been all over Vancouver in the previous two games, they didn't need Calvin Pickard to be sensational in Game 4.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Calvin Pickard wins the day and saves the Edmonton Oilers season Calvin Pickard wins the day and saves the Edmonton Oilers season The 32-year-old backup turned his first ever NHL playoff game into one for the Edmonton sports annals Tuesday Author of the article: Article content The way the Edmonton Oilers had been all over Vancouver in the previous two games, they didn't need Calvin Pickard to be sensational in Game 4. Advertisement 2 Article content Calvin Pickard wins the day and saves the Edmonton Oilers season Back to video Article content Just good. He ended up being sensational, anyway. The 32-year-old backup turned his first ever NHL playoff game into one for the Edmonton sports annals Tuesday, saving 20 shots — and the Oilers season — in a wild 3-2 victory. With the crowd at Rogers Place trying to process a tying goal from Vancouver with 1:41 left in regulation, Evan Bouchard's wrist shot with 38.1 seconds to play clinched the hard-fought decision and evened the series 2-2. Instead of being dead men walking in a 3-1 series deficit, the Oilers are back in charge after winning two of the last three games and outshooting Vancouver 45-18 in the other. Vancouver hadn't been the better team through the first three games, but they were winning the goaltending battles. All that changed in Game 4. Arturs Silovs was outstanding again for the Canucks, keeping another game that should have been an Oilers rout close, but it was Pickard, starting in place of a beleaguered Stuart Skinner, who won the day. Advertisement 3 Article content Pickard wasn't called on much while Edmonton controlled the first period, spending almost all of it in Vancouver's end and going up 1-0 on Leon Draisaitl's power play goal at 11:10, but he did make a couple of calm, slick saves during Vancouver's early power play to keep it 1-0 Oilers at the first intermission. And when Vancouver pushed back in the second period, he was on top of it again, stopping 10 shots and preserving the 1-0 lead until Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put a wrist shot in off the far post at 19:20 to make it 2-0 heading into the third period. The Canucks launched their most ferocious pressure in three games in the third period, and closed the lead to 2-1 on Connor Garland's seeing-eye shot with 13 minutes to play. With Edmonton poised to close out the win Boeser banked a shot off traffic in front of Pickard and it was all tied up with 1:41 to play. Advertisement 4 Article content Big Kills Beating themselves is something the Oilers wanted to avoid in a pivotal Game 4 but they didn't exactly follow that script. Darnell Nurse took a crosschecking penalty early in the first period and then, with the Oilers up 1-0 and in total control, Evander Kane took a double minor for getting the lumber up on Tyler Myers. That could have been disastrous, but Edmonton's penalty killing units were on fire for all six minutes. The shots during Kane's four-minute stint were 1-1. Holl of a Night Dylan Holloway looked excellent in his promotion to the second line. He gave the Oilers exactly what they needed, using his straightaway speed and in-tight quickness to keep numerous offensive rallies going. He didn't shy away from the physical stuff, either. E-mail: [email protected] Related Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Calvin Pickard wins the day and saves the Edmonton Oilers season Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

For a series that's tied 2-2, the Western Conference semifinal between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks hasn't been all that close lately.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Game 4 fallout: Edmonton Oilers rolling, Vancouver Canucks reeling Game 4 fallout: Edmonton Oilers rolling, Vancouver Canucks reeling Author of the article: Article content For a series that's tied 2-2, the Western Conference semifinal between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks hasn't been all that close lately. Advertisement 2 Article content Game 4 fallout: Edmonton Oilers rolling, Vancouver Canucks reeling Back to video The Canucks took Game 1 from an Oilers team that had been sitting idle for a week and stole a Game 3 in which they were outshot 36-7 in the second and third periods. Article content Beyond those results, Edmonton has been the better team for two and half games and now that they're getting some saves you wonder if they aren't poised to pull away for good. That might seem a little premature when it's a best-of-three with two games on the road, but relying on 10-bell saves from Arturs Silovs and soft goals at the other end is no way to live. It's going to catch up and that might be what's happening now. “I hope so,” said Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm. “It's up to us to prove, but this is what we wanted. It's 2-2 and it's a series again, so good on us.” Advertisement 3 Article content Green monsters The Oilers are famous for starting a series slowly and gaining strength as it goes along. They're 2-8 in Game 1s during the Connor McDavid era, but they fight back hard. Last year they trailed 3-2 to Los Angeles and ran the table, then trailed 1-0 to the Flames and ran the table (lol). And Tuesday marked the third straight time they've trailed 2-1 in a series and won Game 4. The Oilers, as I've said many times, are like the Incredible Hulk — they'll get slapped around a little at first, but you wouldn't like them when they're angry. Now, with the shirt ripped and the green pipes flexed, they look like a hard team to stop. “All year when our backs are against the wall that's kind of when we show what we're capable of,” said Evan Bouchard, one of numerous Game 4 heroes for Edmonton. Advertisement 4 Article content “We know what we have in there. We know it's a special group and we can't let this chance slip.” Pickard's job to lose We shouldn't really be surprised that Game 4 saviour and Game 5 starter Calvin Pickard posted a season-saving win on Tuesday. The way the Oilers have been playing defensively and controlling the action, all they needed was a steady presence back there and the popular backup has been exactly that all season. Now the starting job is his until he loses a game. “Off the ice he's a tremendous guy, he just lifts the room up,” said Ekholm. “He's funny, he's really funny, but I love his mindset coming in here. He'd never started a playoff game and I could tell when I got to the rink at 5:30 he was in a zone. “And the way he carried himself on the ice, killer mindset, he went out and delivered for us.” Advertisement 5 Article content Shutting it down Aside from a couple of lucky bounces that resulted in goals, the Canucks couldn't generate much of anything in their 3-2 loss. Edmonton's team defence, the stuff that saw them win 16 in a row in mid season, was right on point and has been all series. “You look at our expected goals, chances that we've given up, I believe we're No. 1 in the NHL right now,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “Sometimes players are going to make mistakes. It's hockey, nobody has ever played a perfect game, but I'm happy with how well our guys have done.” Bottom six rises up A big key to Edmonton's Game 3 win was their penalty killing. An early crosschecking penalty to Darnell Nurse and a double minor for high sticking to Evander Kane could have put Edmonton in a very bad spot. Advertisement 6 Article content Instead, the team and the crowd actually gained momentum during a four-minute penalty in which the Oilers had the best scoring chance. “You talk about moments that could have absolutely killed our momentum in the first period,” said Knoblauch. “We take six minutes in penalties, that could have deflated us. It didn't deflate us, it gave us even more energy. “Those mostly six forwards (Derek Ryan, Warren Foegele, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown, Ryan McLeod and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) and four defencemen (Vincent Desharnais, Cody Ceci, Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm) came up big with some nice plays.” Calling for backup Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, sensing the mood of this series, is pleading with his team to match Edmonton's determination. Advertisement 7 Article content “We've been a resilient group all year, but we need five or six guys to get going,” he said after the loss. “This is the Stanley Cup playoffs. We can't play with 12 guys. We have to figure it out quick.” Tocchet said the other guys simply wanted it more, which is never a good thing to see in your own team. “It's a will to get the puck, it's not Xs and Os,” he said. “You can't win if you have five or six passengers. There's at least half a dozen passengers tonight. “But, in saying that, it's playoff hockey, the next game is a new game and some of those guys can be heroes for us.” Missing in action At the top of the missing persons list is Elias Peterson, who just signed an eight-year $92 million extension. With one point in the series and four points in the playoffs, he's Vancouver's version of Mitch Marner, which is a bad thing to find out when you've just invested that much money in him. “He's got to get going,” said Tocchet. “I don't know what else to say.” E-mail: [email protected] Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Game 4 fallout: Edmonton Oilers rolling, Vancouver Canucks reeling Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers