GAME STORY: Oilers 4, Canucks 3

VANCOUVER, BC – Deficit? What deficit?

The Oilers spotted the Canucks a 3-0 lead in the first period of Tuesday’s game at Rogers Arena, but two goals from Dominik Kahun, one from Connor McDavid and the eventual winner from Tyler Ennis gave the visitors a 4-3 come-from-behind victory to open the two-game mini-series.

Video: OILERS TODAY | Post-Game at VAN 02.24.21

FIRST BLOOD

The Canucks gave the visiting Oilers a rude welcome to their barn as Bo Horvat made it 1-0 just 66 seconds after the opening puck-drop. Vancouver’s captain took a pass from Nate Schmidt and flew down the left wing before firing a shot on net from a sharp angle that snuck through Mike Smith for his ninth tally of the season.

PLAY OF THE GAME

After Kailer Yamamoto drew a tripping penalty, Leon Draisaitl won the ensuing attacking-zone faceoff and Edmonton’s top power-play unit delivered some passing perfection. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins found Alex Chiasson below the goal line and he found Draisaitl in the slot for a one-touch pass over to McDavid for a no-doubter past a helpless Thatcher Demko for the captain’s 13th of the season, putting him alone in second in the NHL.

SAVE OF THE GAME

With the Oilers on the power play in the latter stages of the middle frame, a miscue on their breakout resulted in Antoine Roussel getting a partial breakaway on Smith, but the veteran puck-stopper lunged forward and denied the forward’s five-hole attempt with his stick to keep the score 3-1 Vancouver at the time. After giving up three goals in the first 15:17, Smith was perfect for the final 44:43 and finished with 30 saves to improve to 5-0-0.

Video: POST-RAW | Mike Smith 02.23.21

TURNING POINT

Kahun’s second goal of the night just 55 seconds into the third period set the tone for the Oilers in the final 20 minutes as they out-scored the Canucks 3-0 in the frame to complete the thrilling comeback. After Yamamoto’s shot on a pristine passing play was denied, Draisaitl gathered the rebound and set up his fellow German for a blistering one-timer, his fourth of the season.

TOP PERFORMER

The human apple tree was delivering in bushels once again as Draisaitl recorded his 21st, 22nd and 23rd assists of the season to give him 33 points, putting the reigning league MVP alone in second, five points behind McDavid, in the scoring race.

Video: POST-RAW | Dominik Kahun 02.23.21

FACT CHECK

According to Sportsnet Stats, McDavid has now recorded at least one point in his last six road games in Vancouver, lighting the lamp three times with four assists in that span. Also per Sportsnet Stats, the Oilers won in Vancouver when trailing by three or more goals for the first time since Oct. 19, 1983.

NEXT UP

The Oilers and Canucks will toss their Reverse Retro threads in the laundry and bust them out again on Thursday as the teams conclude their two-game set at Rogers Arena. Edmonton will then open a seven-game homestand on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Video: POST-RAW | Dave Tippett 02.23.21

PARTING WORDS

“After the second, we were talking in the locker room that if we keep getting the pucks to the net and play our game we were going to turn this game around, and it worked well,” Kahun said of the team’s resilience. “It was a very special comeback today and we’re very proud.”

“I’d been in a lot of these games where it can go one of two ways, and I didn’t want it to go the wrong way,” Smith said of his mindset after the first period, down 3-1. “I told myself, ‘Let’s just try to keep this team in the game. I know we can score goals and I know we can play a lot better than we did in the first.’ We showed that and we got a massive, massive two points.”

“All the players talked about after the second period was let’s make the third period our best period of the game and see what happens,” Head Coach Dave Tippett said. “We went out and played a strong third period… I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging around the game.”