Late Goal Sinks Canucks As Series Heads Back To Vancouver Tied At Two

Adam Kierszenblat

May 15, 2024, 05:00

Adam Kierszenblat

May 15, 2024, 05:00

The Vancouver Canucks stormed back late but fell thanks to a late goal in Game 4.

Photo by Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports - Late Goal Sinks Canucks As Series Heads Back To Vancouver Tied At Two

Despite tying the game late in the third, the Vancouver Canucks fell in Game 4 to the Edmonton Oilers 3-2. The Canucks got third-period goals from Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua but could not hold off the Oilers, as Evan Bouchard scored with under a minute left to win the game. As for Artūrs Šilovs, he was once again fantastic, stopping 27 of the 30 shots he faced in the loss.

While Vancouver had a solid third period, the way they played through the first 40 minutes was problematic. Edmonton had a 22-13 lead on the shot clock heading into the second intermission, despite the Canucks having three power plays in the first period. Overall, there were quite a few players on Vancouver's roster that had poor games, which will most likely cause lineup changes ahead of Game 5.

Ultimately, the Canucks lost this game due to simple mistakes that should not happen at this stage of the season. The inability to clear pucks led to the game-winner, while questionable decision-making was a factor on all three Oilers' goals. With the series now a best of three, Vancouver will need to kick their game into another gear if they want to advance to the Western Conference Final.

Quotes

Quinn Hughes on the Canucks falling in Game 4:

"Obviously, very frustrating. To tie it up like that. We had a great push in the third, and then for that to happen is obviously disappointing. These things happen, you just gotta move on."

Rick Tocchet on Vancoyver's performance:

"We've been a resilient group all year, but we need five or six guys to get going here. It's the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There are some guys that I don't know if they thought it was the playoffs. We can't play with 12 guys. We got to figure out quick. It's 2-2. Obviously, it's a tough one, but Edmonton came to play. They wanted it more early. The second goal at the end of the period was a killer. Another couple of mistakes and then the last goal. You can't do that."

Rick Tocchet on managing emotions after the loss:

"We've done it all year, bouncing back after a tough loss. Like I said, you gotta give Edmonton credit. They played better tonight. We came back, made a game of it and then gave them a freebee. We could have got to overtime and then you are playing for house money. I thought we started to wear them down at the end, maybe that's a positive.

Rick Tocchet on the play of Noah Juulsen:

"I thought he did a nice job. That's a tough situation. I thought he was fine."

Facts and Stats

- Dakota Joshua's nine hits were tied with Maxim Lapierre and Jeff Cowan for the second most by a Canucks player in a single playoff game

- Quinn Hughes' nine assists tie Alex Edler and Jeff Brown for the fourth most assists by a Canucks defenceman in a single playoff run

- Vancouver has recorded 21 shots or fewer in eight of their ten playoff games this year

- The Canucks have now won the faceoff battle in all four games of the series

Scoring Summary

1st Period

EDM: 11:10- Leon Draisaitl (8th) from Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard (PPG)

2nd Period

EDM: 19:20- Ryan Nughent-Hopkins (2nd) from Mattias Ekholm