Draisaitl & Hyman Lift Oilers to Dominating 6-2 Victory Over Canucks – The Hockey Writers Edmonton Oilers Latest News, Analysis & More

For the only time this season, the Vancouver Canucks travelled to Edmonton for a one-and-done trip against the Oilers at Rogers Place. These two teams met just five days ago in Vancouver in which the Canucks came away with a 3-2 victory, after jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. But, the late-game shenanigans are what everybody’s talking about. Connor McDavid cross-checked Conor Garland in the head after he was holding the Oilers’ captain while trying to maintain their one-goal lead. Then, after the play, Tyler Myers gave Evan Bouchard a cross-check in the face, which resulted in both Myers and McDavid receiving three-game suspensions. Therefore, neither of those players were in the lineup for this highly-anticipated rematch. The Oilers enacted some revenge as they dominated the Canucks en route to a 6-2 victory. Here’s your game recap.

Game Recap

The Oilers got on the board first courtesy of Zach Hyman 5:52 into the opening period. Leon Draisaitl made a long backhand stretch pass right on Hyman’s tape, and he drove hard to the net and went five-hole on goaltender Thatcher Demko for his 16th goal of the season. Then, Draisaitl extended their lead on the power play for his league-leading 35th goal of the season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins found Draisaitl near the right faceoff dot, and his one-timer found the back of the net. Just 20 seconds later, Adam Henrique added another goal for his seventh of the season. Mattias Ekholm threw the puck around the net, and Henrique quickly pounced on it and wrapped it around, through the legs of Demko. The script was flipped in this one as Vancouver had a 3-0 lead in their last meeting, but Edmonton returned the favour.

Related: Projected Lineups for Oilers vs Canucks – 1/23/25

The Oilers made it 4-0 on Hyman’s second goal of the contest. The Canucks turned the puck over in their own zone, and their giveaway landed right on the stick of Noah Philp who found Hyman for the redirection. The Oilers continued to pour it on as Nugent-Hopkins scored his 13th of the season on the power play. Nugent-Hopkins completed a give-and-go with Draisaitl, and his shot went upstairs, over the glove of Demko.

Vancouver started to push back as they got on the board 25 seconds later. They entered the zone with speed and Brock Boeser sniped a shot over the left shoulder of goaltender Calvin Pickard for his 16th goal of the season. Then, the Canucks made it 5-2 with under five minutes remaining in the period. They won a puck battle off an offensive zone faceoff, and Quinn Hughes found Filip Hronek who hammered a point shot past Pickard. Therefore, the score was 5-2 heading into the final frame, with the Oilers having a 27-15 shot advantage.

Kasperi Kapanen made it 6-2 with his sixth goal of the season to put the game away midway through the final frame. Ty Emberson made a strong play at the Oilers’ blue line and chipped the puck to Kapanen, who then used his speed to drive to the net. His first shot was stopped, but he got his own rebound and buried it. Demko stopped 28 of 34 shots for a .824 save percentage (SV%), while Pickard stopped 24 of 26 shots for a .923 SV%.

The Oilers continue their season-long six-game homestand with a Saturday (Jan. 25) matinee against the Buffalo Sabres. Meanwhile, the Canucks return home for an evening tilt the same day against the Washington Capitals, before hitting the road again for three more.