Vancouver Canucks or Edmonton Oilers: Which team is better suited to represent Canada in Round 3 of NHL playoffs?

The Vancouver Canucks face the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of their second-round series on Monday night. The winner will advance to face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals, vying for a ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.

Regardless of whether the Vancouver Canucks or the Edmonton Oilers advance, one team will have the opportunity to represent Canada in the Conference Finals. But the question begs: which team is better suited to represent Canada in Round 3 of the NHL playoffs?

The short answer is the Edmonton Oilers. They have star power in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Both have lived up to their reputations. Draisaitl leads playoff scorers with 21 points, while McDavid is second with 18.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks stars like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes have fallen short of expectations. Pettersson has registered one goal in 12 games, while Hughes has no goals and nine assists in 12 contests.

From that perspective alone, the Oilers are much better suited to face off against the Dallas Stars. But a closer look reveals something interesting: The Oilers have had much more success in recent years than the Vancouver Canucks, though.

The Oilers reached the Conference Finals in 2021-22, losing to the champions Colorado Avalanche. Last season, the Oilers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. Meanwhile, the Canucks had missed the playoffs three years in a row before making a stunning turnaround this year.

Thus, it seems like the Oilers are a much more battle-tested team with proven performers. As for the Canucks, they had a good season this year, but they don’t seem quite poised to make a strong case for a Stanley Cup.

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How do the Vancouver Canucks stack up against the Dallas Stars?

The Dallas Stars are a deep team. They have a solid top-six core, a strong defense and one of the best netminders in the league. The Stars have proved that they can shut down top players like Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.

So, how would the Vancouver Canucks stack up against the Dallas Stars?

With the way Vancouver’s top players have been playing this postseason, it seems unlikely that their depth players could make a significant impact against Dallas.

Vancouver’s J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser have done their fair share. But the Canucks would need Hughes, Pettersson and Elias Lindholm to catch fire to compete against Dallas.

Dallas' top D-man Miko Heiskanen and defensive specialist Roope Hintz would make it tough for the Canucks’ top players to outscore Dallas’ leading scorers.

Lastly, the Dallas Stars play a tough, hard-nosed defense-first game. That approach allowed the Stars to win the season series 2-1. While the Canucks shut out the Stars 2-0 on Nov. 4, Dallas won 4-3 in December and 3-1 in their last meeting on March 28.

Dallas has proven that it can keep the Canucks in check, holding them to 28 shots in their last meeting.

Overall, the Edmonton Oilers have more offensive weapons to throw at Dallas than Vancouver. However, Dallas shut out Edmonton in their last meeting, 5-0, on Apr. 3.

If Edmonton faces Dallas, expect a series much like the first two regular-season games. The Stars and Oilers split 4-3 victories, with the Oilers winning on Feb. 17 in OT.