Vancouver Canucks 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round Preview: A Pacific Division Matchup With The Edmonton Oilers

05/05/2024

After defeating the Nashville Predators in six games, the Vancouver Canucks will face off against the Edmonton Oilers in round two. The Pacific Division rivals have met twice in the playoffs before, with the Oilers winning both the 1986 and 1992 series. Despite the two teams not meeting in the playoffs for over 30 years, the organizations know each other well, which should lead to an exciting, hard-fought series.

Season Series:

Vancouver Canucks: 4-0-0-0

Nashville Predators: 0-4-0-0

October 11, 2023- Edmonton Oilers 1 @ Vancouver Canucks 8

October 14, 2023- Vancouver Canucks 4 @ Edmonton Oilers 3

November 6, 2023- Edmonton Oilers 2 @ Vancouver Canucks 6

April 13, 2024- Vancouver Canucks 3 @ Edmonton Oilers 1

Season Series Leaders:

Vancouver Canucks:

Skaters Stats:

1) Quinn Hughes: 4 GP, 1 G, 7 A, 8 P

2) Brock Boeser: 4 GP, 6 G, 1 A, 7 P

3) J.T. Miller: 4 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 7 P

4) Elias Pettersson: 4 GP, 1 G, 6 A, 7 P

5) Nils Höglander: 4 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 P

Goaltending Stats:

1) Thatcher Demko: 2 GP, 2-0, .954 SV%, 1.67 GAA

2) Casey DeSmith: 3 GP, 2-0, .949 SV%, 1.82 GAA

Edmonton Oilers:

Skaters Stats:

1) Leon Draisaitl: 4 GP, 3 G, 1 A, 4 P

2) Connor McDavid: 3 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P

3) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 4 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P

4) Evander Kane : 4 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 P

5) Evan Bouchard : 4 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 P

Goaltending Stats:

1) Stuart Skinner: 4 GP, 0-3, .830 SV%, 4.60 GAA

2) Jack Campbell: 1 GP, 0-1, .750 SV%, 8.73 GAA

Forwards

Based on the regular season, this is the battle of two of the top offences in the NHL. Five of the top 20 point producers from the season will feature in the series, as well as Zach Hyman, who hit 54 goals, and Brock Boeser, who scored 40. Essentially, this series has the potential to be high-scoring and one that will not be easy for the goaltenders.

Looking at Edmonton’s roster, the most significant threats are easily Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The two are dynamic, especially on the power play and are extremely difficult to shut down. What makes facing the Oilers even more complicated is that the two often play on separate lines, making it difficult to match up, especially on the road. It won’t be an easy series for Vancouver’s top centers, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Elias Lindholm, but if they can shut down these two lines, it will neutralize the Oilers at even strength.

As for one forward the Canucks need to be careful of, that would be Zach Hyman. Not only did he score seven times against the L.A. Kings, but he finished the series with 19 hits. He is going to be a nightmare in front of the net and a player Vancouver’s defence need to stick to if the Canucks want to have success.

Defence

Overall, Vancouver has the advantage on the blue line. While Edmonton does have talented players like Evan Bouchard, they arguably aren’t as deep or physical as the Canucks defence core and don’t have a player of Quinn Hughes’ calibre. In what should be a fast series, the ultimate decider could be which defence core can control the forecheck while also ensuring players can not get set up in front of the crease.

One challenge for Vancouver’s defence will be breaking up cross-ice passes. The Oilers are really good at setting up one-timers or directing passes toward the net and onto Hyman’s stick. If Tyler Myers, Ian Cole, Carson Soucy, Filip Hronek, Nikita Zadorov and Hughes can get in those lanes and clog up the “guts of the ice,” as Rick Tocchet often refers to, it should help limit Edmonton’s opportunities and could create opportunities the other way.

Looking at the Oilers roster, Mattias Ekholm has the potential to be a difference-maker. In 83 minutes of even-strength ice time against the Kings, Ekholm had an xGF% of 54.20 while limiting L.A.’s top players to 14 high-danger chances. While he hasn’t shown his offensive ability so far in the playoffs, he is going to be frustrating to play against all series.

Goaltenders

The battle between Artūrs Šilovs and Stuart Skinner is very intriguing. While Skinner has been the starter for the entire playoffs, Šilovs was forced into action in Game 4, having never started an NHL postseason before. Both played significant roles in their teams advancing, with each recording a 1-0 shutout in the first round.

Despite Skinner having more experience, Vancouver may have the advantage in goal for the simple fact that Edmonton never played against Šilovs this season. He also was so calm in the postseason that it is hard to figure out exactly where his weak spots are. Add in the fact that Šilovs is looking more confident the more he plays, and this could be a situation where he stands on his head and puts on a performance that frustrates the Oilers.

Special Teams

The power play and penalty kill are going to be so crucial throughout the series. Edmonton was able to win their series against the Kings thanks to power play, while Vancouver’s penalty kill came up clutch for them on multiple occasions. Discipline will be a key for the Canucks as they need to limit the time the Oilers can spend on the power play while trying to draw their own.

While the penalty kill will be a focus, Vancouver needs to capitalize on the power play. Yes, Edmonton did go perfect on the penalty kill against L.A., but they only had to kill 12 penalties during the series. If the Canucks can get shots on goal and create traffic in front of the net, they should be able to cash in with the man advantage as they did with regularity during the regular season against the Oilers.

Overall, this is going to be a challenging series for Vancouver. They need to get as many shots as they can on Skinner and ensure they utilize their physicality without taking penalties. If they can lock down Edmonton’s top players and convert their opportunities, the Canucks should be on their way to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2011.

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