The Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers meet Sunday in Game 3 Western Conference NHL Playoffs Second Round action at Rogers Place. Here’s a Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks Prediction.
Game Three Recap: Oilers Even The Series
The Edmonton Oilers will look to build some steam after stealing home ice in a 4-3 OT win in game two last time out. Elias Pettersson opened the scoring for the Oilers on the power play just 4:14 into the game before Leon Draisaitl tied the game at one for the Oilers just after the midway point of the opening frame. Brock Boeser would give the Canucks the lead again just :53 into the second period, but the lead lasted all of 23 second before Mattias Ekholm tied the game at two. Nikita Zadorov gave Vancouver the lead again with less than two minutes to go in the middle frame, but Connor McDavid would tie things at three with the lone goal of the third period. Regulation settled nothing, so it was off to overtime where Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into the extra session to get the Oilers the win and head to Edmonton tied at one win apiece. Stuart Skinner got the win between the pipes for the Oilers after stopping 16 of 19 shots faced in the win while Arturs Silovs ended up with the loss after allowing all 4 goals on 31 shots faced in defeat.
Vancouver Canucks Player Stats
J.T. Miller leads the Canucks in scoring with 103 points including 37 goals and 66 assists while Elias Pettersson has 89 points with 34 goals and 55 assists. Quinn Hughes has 92 points with a team-high 75 assists and Brock Boeser has 73 points with a team-high 40 goals and 33 assists. Thatcher Demko’s gone 35-14-2 with a 2.45 GAA and a .918 save percentage in goal for Vancouver while Casey DeSmith is 12-9-6 with a 2.89 GAA and an .896 save percentage this season.
Why the Vancouver Canucks will win
- The Canucks have won each of their last seven road games after coming off overtime.
- The Oilers have lost three of their last four Game 3s of a playoff series.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Canucks’ last seven games.
- The Oilers have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four games against Western Conference opponents.
- The Canucks have won the third period in five of their last six games against the Oilers.
Edmonton Oilers Player Stats
Connor McDavid leads the Oilers in scoring with 132 points including a team-high 100 assists while Leon Draisaitl has 106 points with 41 goals and 65 assists. Zach Hyman has 77 points with a team-high 54 goals while Evan Bouchard has 82 points with 18 goals and 64 assists as well. Evander Kane has 44 points with 24 goals and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 67 points with 49 assists this season. Stuart Skinner is 36-16-5 with a 2.62 GAA and a .905 save percentage while Calvin Pickard is 12-7-1 with a 2.45 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season.
Why the Edmonton Oilers will win
- The Oilers have won 11 of their last 12 home games following a road win.
- The Canucks have lost seven of their last nine Game 3s of a playoff series.
- The Oilers have covered the puck line in each of their last five home games following an overtime win.
- The Oilers have won the second period in each of their last seven games following a road win.
Canucks vs. Oilers Prediction
I’m on the Canucks +1.5 here. I just think this is going to be a tight series and even though Edmonton does play their best hockey at home. I’m not laying this hefty price or taking the puck line against a Vancouver team that’s still solid and one that’s also been in it in the first two games of the series, which have each been decided by a single goal. Should be another great one, and I’m sticking with the Canucks +1.5 here.