The Vancouver Canucks are only one win away from punching their ticket to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2011 after a dramatic 3-2 victory in Game 5 over the Edmonton Oilers. J.T. Miller was the hero with 32.6 seconds remaining, jumping on a rebound off the post and banging it past Calvin Pickard for the win and a 3-2 series lead. But that’s not all that happened in that game. Let’s jump into the latest Canucks’ 3 Up, 3 Down with all the action from Game 5, and some storylines over the series as a whole as we look toward Game 6.
Plus One: Di Giuseppe Channels New Dad Energy With One of His Best Games as a Canuck
After missing Games 3 and 4 due to personal reasons (we later found out that his wife Maggie was giving birth), Phil Di Giuseppe returned to the lineup in Game 5 with a lot of energy. On a new-look fourth line with Vasily Podkolzin and Nils Aman, he tied the game at two in the second period off a spin-o-rama in front of Pickard after Aman forced a turnover from Evan Bouchard. He finished the game with three shots and five hits in 9:13 of ice time and looked dangerous almost every shift he was on the ice.
Related: Canucks Overmatch Oilers in 3-2 Game 5 Win
The birth of Di Giuseppe’s son Sam gave him a jump in his step as the positive energy reverberated through his game. In fact, it transferred throughout the lineup as the Canucks probably had their best game of the playoffs outshooting the Oilers 35-23 and controlling play most of the night. Hopefully, he still has some of that new dad energy left in the tank for Game 6 tonight as the Canucks try and advance to the Western Conference Final.
Minus One: How Can a Reverse Hit Be Called Charging?
I don’t think there was a soul in the hockey universe that wasn’t confused by the penalty that Elias Pettersson took in Game 5. After a reverse hit that sent Warren Foegele to the ice, he was assessed a charging penalty. By definition, charging is when a player leaves his feet or takes a few strides to deliver a hit. How do you charge someone from a standing position with your back to the player? Pettersson must be a magician because I don’t know how that’s possible. There have been some borderline penalty calls in the playoffs so far, but that was by far the most confusing.
Plus Two: Elias Pettersson Looked More Like Himself in Game 5
Speaking of Pettersson, we finally saw glimpses of the man who dominated the NHL in January when he tallied 14 goals in 13 games. It couldn’t have come at a better time, too, as the Canucks will need him if they are to bust through the Oilers in Game 6 and the Dallas Stars in the next round. He didn’t score, but he had chances and was noticeable offensively. It’s only a matter of time before pucks start going in for him if he continues to play like he did in Game 5.
Reunited with fellow Swedes Nils Hoglander and Elias Lindholm, Pettersson had an assist and three shots on goal. The line itself also dominated the analytics side of things, edging the Oilers in scoring chances 8-5, high-danger chances 6-3 and finishing with an impressive 59.09 Corsi for percentage (CF%) at five-on-five. That line will need to continue its dominance in Game 6 if the Canucks hope to book a date with the Stars in Round 3.
Minus Two: How Does Connor McDavid Have Zero Penalties in This Series?
Five games, and zero penalty minutes for Connor McDavid. He didn’t even get a minor for his baseball swing slash on Carson Soucy that led to Nikita Zadorov and Soucy’s cross-checks that ultimately resulted in a $5,000 fine to the former and a one-game suspension to the latter. This was after Game 2’s antics where he high-sticked captain Quinn Hughes in the face causing him to bleed. He also arguably got away with embellishment on Dakota Joshua’s tripping call in Game 5. Right there, McDavid should have eight minutes of penalties to his name. Yet he has none.
Related: Zadorov Fined & Soucy Suspended for Hits on McDavid
On the high stick, it’s really interesting that four refs on the ice didn’t see the infraction, especially considering it drew blood. Couldn’t they have huddled and deemed it a penalty? But nothing of the sort happened, and McDavid got away with a vicious high stick that would have put the Canucks on a four-minute power play. Who knows how that game would have turned out? Maybe they would already be on to the second round. Regardless, it seems like McDavid is getting special treatment in this series and has avoided the sin bin when he should have been a resident of it multiple times.
Plus Three: Is Di Giuseppe, Aman & Podkolzin the 4th Line the Canucks Have Been Looking For?
Going back to Di Giuseppe, Aman and Podkolzin, the Canucks might have found the high-energy fourth line they have been looking for all season long. With Tocchet making several lineup changes that had the offensive black hole Ilya Mikheyev and the surprisingly underwhelming Sam Lafferty banished to the press box, Di Giuseppe and Podkolzin made their return count with several strong forechecking shifts – none better than Di Giuseppe’s goal in the second period.
The trio also stood out in the analytics department outshooting the Oilers 4-2 and finishing with a strong 63.64 CF% at five-on-five. Overall, they had a bigger impact than the former fourth line of Lafferty, Di Giuseppe and Teddy Blueger.
Minus Three: Penalty Kill Was Strong, But Too Many Penalties in Game 5
The Canucks were playing with a lighter and gasoline in Game 5, giving the Oilers’ potent power play five chances to convert. But their penalty killers managed to juggle the lighter and prevent it from falling into the gas, killing all five and limiting the Oilers to three shots. While that penalty-killing work was admirable, they cannot be giving that fivesome that many chances on the power play.
The Canucks’ penalty killing was much more aggressive in Game 5, especially when McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had the puck. That’s how they have to play against that duo, never giving them time to make a play or in Draisaitl’s case, get open for a one-timer from his spot at the right hash marks. Regardless, they have to stay out of the box in Game 6. As we’ve witnessed over the first five games of this series, it’s just way too talented to go scoreless two games in a row. The Canucks have for the most part dominated the Oilers five-on-five. If they can limit them to one or two power plays in Game 6, I like their chances of finishing it in Edmonton.
Canucks Can Move To 8 Wins of a Stanley Cup Tonight
The Canucks couldn’t finish off the Nashville Predators in their first try in the first round. They have a massive opportunity to move one step closer to the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup, tonight, and they can’t let it slip by. Yes, they will have another chance in Game 7 if they lose, but anything can happen in a one-game showdown. Finish it in Game 6, and we can start preparing for a matchup with former Canuck Chris Tanev and BC native Logan Stankoven in the Western Conference Final.
