The Edmonton Oilers kept fighting in Game 2 and capped off a comeback in overtime to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Friday night.
The Canucks led three times before goals by captain Connor McDavid in the third period and defenceman Evan Bouchard in overtime tied the series 1-1.
“That was huge,” Bouchard said moments after the game finished in Vancouver. “We played hard all game long.”
The Canucks grabbed the lead five minutes into the game during a power play when J.T. Miller found Elias Pettersson, who one-timed it past Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner for the 1-0 lead.
The Oilers scored a power-play goal of their own minutes later when superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid combined in a give-and-go before the German forward put Edmonton on the board.
Much like the first period, the Canucks grabbed the lead early in the second thanks to a redirect from Brock Boeser, but Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm evened things up moments later with his second goal of the series.
Canucks defenceman Nikita Zadorov gave Vancouver the lead late in the second period thanks to a shot from a tight angle that snuck behind Skinner.
The Oilers dominated in the third period with 16 shots to the Canucks’ three.
After zero shots in Game 1, McDavid hit the post in the third period before scoring a breakaway goal and tying the game at 3-3.
The Oilers swarmed the Canucks toward the end of the third period but couldn’t take the lead for the first time in Game 2 and the game went into overtime.
After an intense start to overtime, it was Bouchard who gave Edmonton the lead, and the win, in Game 2.
“I thought this game was a game where we took over the game halfway through it. We just kept coming, kept pushing,” Ekholm told reporters in the locker room.
“They had a hell of a comeback in the first game. I thought tonight we had that comeback mindset. They were up three times in this game; we just kept coming back.”
“It’s 1-1, they have a really good team,” Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes said.
“Now we look forward to Edmonton.”
Game 3 is Sunday at 7:30 p.m. MT at Rogers Place.