The Vancouver Canucks will be hosting the Edmonton Oilers for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs West second round at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET, with the game being televised on TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, CBC and TVAS. The series is currently tied at 2-2.
The Canucks, despite a challenging Game 4, are aiming to bounce back and secure a 3-2 series lead. They have maintained a 172-123 hits advantage through the four games, with 45 hits in Game 4 alone.
The Oilers, on the other hand, managed to hold onto their lead in Game 4 and clinched a crucial victory by scoring the decisive goal with only 39 seconds to spare.
Game 4 was yet another thrilling one-goal game. Leon Draisaitl, coming off a pass from Connor McDavid, scored a one-timer for a powerplay goal, marking the first time an Oilers player has started a postseason with a 9-game point streak since the days of Mark Messier.
Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks: Game preview
The Vancouver Canucks, who are currently tied 2-2 in this series, are hoping for a significant home victory in the Game 5. They had good chances to win the first game of the series and are now just two wins away from the Conference Finals.
The Canucks have the ability to overcome deficits in the playoffs, but they're taking a risk against a high-scoring team like Edmonton Oilers.
Brock Boeser has been leading scorer for the team with seven goals, five assists, and 25 shots on goal, while J.T. Miller has contributed two goals, nine assists, and 21 shots on goal.
Quinn Hughes has provided nine assists and Elias Lindholm has scored five goals. The Canucks' starting goalie, Arturs Silovs, has a record of 4-3-0, a goals against average of 2.71, a SV% of .907, and has allowed 19 goals on 204 shots faced in the postseason.
Vancouver has been averaging 2.70 goals per game in the postseason, with a 20% success rate on the power play and conceding 2.60 goals per game with a 78.1% success rate on the penalty kill.
Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers achieved a significant 3-2 victory in game three, tying the series at two each. They were leading 2-0 in the third period, but Vancouver managed to equalize late in the game. The Oilers then scored the winning goal with less than a minute remaining.
The Oilers have struggled to maintain their performance throughtout the full 60 minutes of each game in this series, as evidenced by their blown 4-1 lead in game one and faced challenges in every game of the series.
Leon Draisaitl has been the Oiler's top performer with eight goals, 12 assists, and 39 shots on goal, totaling 20 points. He is closely followed by Zach Hyman with nine goals.
Connor McDavid has also made significant contributions with two goals, 16 assists, and 27 shots on goal. The Oilers' starting goalie, Calvin Pickard, has a 1-0-0 record, a 1.57 goals against average, a .917 save percentage, and has conceded two goals on 24 shots faced.
Edmonton has been averaging 4.00 goals per game in the postseason, with a power-play success rate of 46.7% and allowing an average of 3.00 goals per game with a penalty kill rate of 87.5%.
Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks: Injury report
For the Canucks, Philip Di Giuseppe is listed as day to day due to personal reasons, while Thatcher Demko is out with a knee injury and Tucker Poolman is out due to a head injury.
On the Oilers' side, Adam Henrique is listed as day to day due to an ankle injury.
Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks: Head-to-head
The Oilers have an all time playoff record of 9-4-0-0 against the Canucks. However, their faceoff success rate of 47.6% is somewhat lower than the Canucks' rate of 52.6%.
Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks: Spread
The Oilers are expected to lead by 1.5 goals. The odds for the Oilers to beat the spread are +164, while the Canucks stand at -200.
Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks: Over/Under
The Game 5 has a goal expectation of 6.5. The odds for the total goals to be over this number is +100, while the odds for it to be under is -122.
Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks: Series odds and score prediction
Edmonton, the favorite with a 152 odds, stands a 59.8% chance to win the match. Vancouver, however, despite being the team, is a +126 underdog with a 44.6% chance of victory.
Score Prediction: Canucks 4 - 4 Oilers (The game is set to go into overtime, with Canucks expected to win with a scoreline of 5-4).