Canucks Perform Epic Game 1 Comeback vs. Oilers, Win 5-4

If fans thought Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs featured a doozy on Tuesday when the Colorado Avalanche clawed back from 3-0 down against the Dallas Stars to win 4-3, the hockey gods served up more wild stuff on Wednesday. After falling into a 4-1 hole at home to the Edmonton Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks showed they have no quit, scoring four unanswered goals to claim a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of this all-Canadian matchup.

Canucks Down but Never Out

The match could not have gotten off to a worse start for Vancouver. The Oilers jumped out to a 1-0 lead barely two minutes into the contest through a Zach Hyman power play goal after the Canucks were called for too many men on the ice. Mattias Ekholm doubled the visitors’ advantage at 15:01 to really hush the home crowd. 

Related: Oilers/Canucks Series Will be Decided by Goaltending

Only 53 seconds into the middle frame, it looked as though the Canucks might make a statement when Dakota Joshua cleverly slid home the puck after it bounced off the boards behind the Oilers’ net. It would not be so, as Cody Ceci fired a long shot that was screened to make it 3-1, and Hyman tallied once more on a shot Vancouver netminder Arturs Silovs arguably should have stopped. Elias Lindholm netted late to make it 4-2 and maybe, just maybe, give Vancouver life.

In a testament to how quickly things can change when the stakes are at their highest, the entire game’s complexity flipped on its head in a 4:48 span from the midway point of the third period. J.T. Miller’s beguiling tip-in from a sharp angle made it 4-3, which spurred a furious blitz. Nikita Zadorov blasted a shot from the blue line that Stuart Skinner couldn’t handle to level the terms 4-4. The comeback was completed 39 seconds after that as Conor Garland raced out on the right side of the rink, faked a slap shot, and caught Skinner off guard by sliding the biscuit five-hole. 

Vancouver held on through some resilient defence to win the day 5-4, leaving Edmonton to wonder how they let this one slip away. 

Will Game 2 feature more storybook hockey? We’ll find out on Friday night from Vancouver.