The series has shifted to Edmonton, where the home crowd now backs the Oilers. From the opening minutes of Game 3, fans energized their players to push forward. The Canucks continued to make the same mistakes, and the first penalty against the visitors led to a goal. Matthias Ekholm seized a rebound and fired into an empty net. Vancouver responded in kind soon after. Leon Draisaitl went to the penalty box for interference, and after a Brock Boeser shot from the blue line, Elias Lindholm deflected the puck into the net. For Boeser, this was his first point of the period, but far from his last. At the 14-minute mark, the Canucks executed a brilliant passing play in the offensive zone, setting up Boeser for a shot. Stuart Skinner had no chance. With one and a half minutes left in the first period, the Oilers gifted the puck to Pius Suter in their own zone. Suter quickly fed Boeser, who beat Skinner to give his team a two-goal lead.
To illustrate Edmonton’s dominance over the final two periods, just look at the shot count: 36-7 in favor of the hosts. Early in the second period, Draisaitl cut the deficit on the power play. The pressure on Artur Shilov’s net was relentless. The visitors were saved by the goalpost multiple times, and Shilov showed acrobatic skill, once stopping the puck on the goal line, leading to a lengthy review. Vancouver had to absorb pressure and occasionally counterattack. With three minutes left in the second period, they got a two-minute power play when Darnell Nurse was penalized for slashing. Elias Lindholm followed Boeser’s lead, scoring his second goal of the game. In the third period, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch pulled Skinner for Calvin Pickard, but Pickard faced few shots, stopping just three as all the action was in Shilov’s zone. The Oilers managed to score with an extra attacker late, but could not complete the comeback. Despite the loss, Edmonton remains confident that generating so many chances will eventually pay off. However, Vancouver now has home-ice advantage. Nikita Zadorov did not score but delivered impressive hits. Betting odds for Game 4 of the series:
– Edmonton Oilers victory: from 1.84 (Olimpbet, Liga Stavok) to 1.88 (Betcity)
– Vancouver Canucks victory: from 3.40 (BetBoom) to 3.78 (Olimpbet)