The Western Canada rivalry series between the Canucks and Oilers will see its first elimination game on Saturday night when Vancouver can eliminate Edmonton with a win in on enemy ice. It’s been a tight series throughout with J.T. Miller scoring the game-winning goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation on Thursday night to give the Canucks a 3-2 series lead. Every game in the series has been decided by a goal.
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The two teams have gone back and forth trading wins in this series. The Oilers stole home ice advantage with a 5-4 win in Game 2, but the Canucks quickly stole it back with a win in Game 3 in Edmonton. Now, another win sends them to the Western Conference final where they’ll face either Colorado or Dallas.
Winning at home on Saturday night is no guarantee for the Oilers who are just 3-2 at Rogers Place this postseason. Edmonton is a pretty significant favorite in Saturday’s Game 6.
Arturs Silovs, a third-string goaltender when these playoffs started, has now started eight games and is 5-3 with a 2.62 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Not bad for a goalie that the Canucks selected with the 156th pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
The Oilers went to Calvin Pickard in net for Games 4 and 5 and we’ll see if they go back to Stuart Skinner or stick with Pickard after the loss in Game 5.
Odds are from BetMGM and update live. Buy tickets to see your favorite team on StubHub.
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Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers — Game 6
How to watch: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, SN
Canucks lead 3-2
Series odds: Canucks -185, Oilers +150
• Have the Canucks figured out how to slow down Oilers captain Connor McDavid? Maybe. Vancouver outshot the Oilers 8-3 when at 5-on-5 and scored two goals when McDavid was on the ice in Thursday’s Game 5 win at home. Harman Dayal explains how the Canucks did it.
• In order to win this series, the Canucks had to find a way to shut down the Oilers potent power play. They did that in Game 5 with the Oilers going 0-for-5. Even with the poor performance, Edmonton still leads the playoffs scoring on 40 percent of their chances.
• With a win on Saturday night, the Canucks can advance to the Western Conference final for the first time since 2011. You’ll, of course, remember that season due to the Canucks losing in Game 7 to the Bruins at home and the riots that happened after. It’s been so long that there’s a documentary on that season coming out this summer.
• Edmonton was eliminated in Game 6 last year in the second round by the Vegas Golden Knights. McDavid said he hopes his team has learned from that experience and can force a Game 7 on Monday night in Vancouver.
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(Photo of J.T. Miller and Evan Bouchard: Codie McLachlan / Getty Images)