Canucks 4 - Oilers 3 - Crack a cold one for me, boys.

Highlights

Game Recap

The game overall was what you expect it to be when you consider it is game 82 for both the Canucks and Oilers. Most players tonight just looked like they were trying to get through the game without injuring themselves before they head off to Las Vegas, their cottage or wherever else rich athletes go. The first real chance the Oilers had was within the first ten minutes of the game when Taylor Hall sent a pass through three Canuck defenders to a surging Iiro Pakarinen from behind the Canucks net.

The rest of the first was mainly dominated by the Canucks, and Derek Dorsett scored at the 9:59 mark after Adam Pardy passed the puck to a falling Taylor Hall. Hall was literally on the ground when Pardy made the pass after coming out from behind his net, and it certainly was a brutal mistake.

The second period was unlike the first, and the Oilers began to turn the game around. With 6:14 left in the period, Edmonton was outshooting the Canucks 23-15 when Darnell Nurse stepped into a slap shot, sneaking it by Jacob Markstrom. In the second alone, the Canucks left Markstrom out to dry getting outshot 16-4. The scoring chances had been heavily favouring the Oilers to boot.

None the less, Vancouver was able to score just over a minute into the third when Emereson Etem was given way too much space entering the zone, and he was able to snap a wrister just over Talbot's pads. It was one that Talbot should be kicking himself over, but he has kept the team in so many games this season he can be fairly cut a break.

All-in-all, the entire game's broadcast was a love-in for the Vancouver Canucks. No matter what the Oilers did, it wasn't good enough while everything the Canucks did was just fantastic. The classic 'poor me' card was pulled in favour of Vancouver. Sorry folks, but maybe if Benning had been a bit of a better GM they wouldn't be in the debacle they are in now.

Much like the second, the Oilers were able to push the play and able to respond to the Canucks goals. The team looked like they wanted to close out their season on a high note. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was able to capitalize on a great feed from Taylor Hall and deflect in a backhand tip.

The back and forth tempo this game had continued on, after Jannik Hansen answered and put a real nice shot above Cam Talbot. Patrick Maroon scored his sixth goal in six games soon after, sniping an absolute laser top shelf on the power play. Maroon's goal was in thanks to Nail Yakupov, who stepped in over the blue line, stopped on a dime and threw a huge cross ice pass to the Big Rig.

The game went into overtime where nobody was able to solve either goalie. After nothing happened there, the game went way longer than it needed to. In the seventh round of the shootout, Emerson Etem scored to finish the game.

That puts a wrap on an Edmonton Oilers season that has seen them greatly improve over the previous year.

2014 - 2015 Oilers: 24-44-14, 62 pts. -85 Goal Dif.
2015 - 2016 Oilers: 31-43-8, 70 pts. -42 Goal Dif.

Any sort of year over year improvement is good to see.

I would imagine the Oilers will head back home to Edmonton, and crack open a few cold one's on the flight. If that's the case then crack a cold one for me, boys.