GAME RECAP: Canucks 6, Oilers 2

From ‘no goal’ for Foegele to ‘it’s a goal’ for Miller, the final frame didn’t include the comeback Edmonton wanted.

Foegele had the puck in the back of Vancouver’s net in the opening minute of the third period in what the Markham, Ont. product thought was his fourth goal of the season, but after a Canucks’ challenge, the referees reversed the decision believing that the winger kicked the puck over the goal line.

The Oilers had to play on despite the decision from the officials, and it was a late buzzer that made the deficit too much to overcome.

On a 4-on-3 power play for the Canucks after the Oilers began taking penalties, including a roughing penalty to Connor McDavid, Miller’s shot from the top of the zone looked like it had struck the crossbar until the buzzer at Rogers Arena sounded to let the officials know they should take another look.

The goal was given to Vancouver to extend their lead to 5-2, which stood up as the final score at the final buzzer.

The Oilers were charged with two 10-minute misconducts in the final period to Leon Draisaitl and Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, who was ejected from the bench in the final 10 minutes of regulation for unsportsmanlike conduct defending a hard cross-check to the back of Dylan Holloway.

“I asked about the play on Holloway and it wasn’t profanity-laced or anything like that. It was a question,” Woodcroft said. “It wasn’t well received when I asked the question, and in the end, I’ve got to better. I can’t take a penalty to put our team down, but I didn’t think it crossed the line at all.

“Sometimes the way you send a message or ask a question, the way it’s received, might be not in the manner you intend it to. In the end, the reason I asked that question, I thought it was similar to the penalty that McDavid took to go down 4-on-3, so I thought it was a fair question. He didn’t, and in the end, I’ve got to better. I can’t ask that question apparently. 

“He’s a passionate guy, like we all are,” McDavid added. “That happens.”