Instant Reaction: Oilers come out on top in Game 4 to even series with Canucks

In the dying minutes of the second period, the Canuck defenceman decided to jump up to hit Mattias Ekholm, which proved to be a mistake as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid had a two-on-one, with the former shooting it under the blocker for the 2-0 lead.

Vancouver would get one back seven minutes into the third period, as an unfortunate bounce off Vincent Desharnais bounced to the Canucks, and after a drop pass, Conor Garland beat a screened Calvin Pickard.

The Vancouver Canucks should just play 6-on-5. It’s what they’re good at, as they scored another goal with their netminder pulled to even the game. It was a smart shot for Brock Boeser, throwing the puck on net and getting a deflection to tie the game with just over a minute left.

Ah here we go again, right back to overtime, right? Wrong. Evander Kane absolutely obliterated a Canuck after the puck was dumped in, getting all the fans back on their feet. Seconds later, an Evan Bouchard shot found its way into the back of the net, with the Oilers regaining their lead and sending it back to Vancouver tied.

Things worth mentioning…

Calvin Pickard needs to start Game 5. He saved 19 of 21 shots for a .905 save percentage, the first time in this series an Oiler netminder has had a save percentage above .900. Not just that, but Pickard also made a few big saves, including this one to keep it a 1-0 game. First playoff start, first career playoff win for the journeyman. 

The refs had a good game. They didn’t miss any egregious calls, and every call they made was a penalty that was justified to be called. This included an Evander Kane double-minor high stick that may be looked at by the league, but it looked completely accidental.

Corey Perry mocked Carson Soucy’s suspension in a hilarious way as he put his stick up in a cross-checking motion in Brock Boeser’s face during a scrum. It’s not overly important to the game by any means, but it’s awfully funny.

The Edmonton Oilers aren’t a two-man team. Obviously if you’re an Oiler fan, you know this. However, in many years, Evan Bouchard has truly developed into Edmonton’s best homegrown defenceman. He’s getting better defensively and is one of the best offensive defencemen in the league. Shoutout to Mattias Ekholm for helping him unlock his game.

What superstitions do you have? For me, I have to watch at least one period in the basement for the Oilers to win, as they are 2-0 when I do so and 0-2 when I do not. What are some of yours?

Up next: The series is tied up, and it returns to Vancouver on Thursday at 8:00 PM MT for a pivotal Game 5. The Oilers need to win this one to put the Canucks on the brink of elimination with a trip back to Edmonton for Game 6. Let’s hope it happens.