Evander Kane #91 of the Edmonton Oilers battles for position against Brad Hunt #77 and Spencer Martin #30 of the Vancouver Canucks. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Associated Press
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Devin Shore scored the lone shootout goal and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Friday night while resting star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the regular-season finale.
Edmonton will face the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs.
Mikko Koskinen made 39 saves and Brett Kulak and Tyson Barrie scored to help the Oilers (49-27-6) set a franchise record for consecutive games with a point at home, going 14-0-1 in their last 15 appearances at Rogers Place. They also have won seven of eight overall.
“The way we have been playing over the last little while, even the last 2 1/2, it is all building towards what we are going to be stepping into (with the playoffs) on Monday,” Barrie said. “I think we are in a good position, we are a confident group and we know what is expected of us and what our systems are. We are just ready and excited to execute it.”
Goaltender Spencer Martin #30 of the Vancouver Canucks defends his net against Devin Shore #14 of the Edmonton Oilers during the second period at Rogers Place on April 29, 2022 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
J.T. Miller and Conor Garland scored for Vancouver and Spencer Martin stopped 31 shots. The Canucks missed the playoffs, finishing 40-30-12.
Conor Garland #8 of the Vancouver Canucks shoots and scores against goaltender Mikko Koskinen #19 of the Edmonton Oilers during the third period at Rogers Place on April 29, 2022 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
“I told them I was really proud of them. I can take maybe four or five games where we didn’t start out very well, but out of the 50-some games that I was here, the effort was there almost every night,” Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I’m unhappy that we didn’t make the playoffs, but not unhappy with the way we played and I think the organization has a bright future.”
Los Angeles Kings center Adrian Kempe (9) is checked by Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (6) during their NHL game at Rogers Arena on April 28, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By Dan Greenspan / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
Brock Boeser scored his second goal at 4:30 of overtime, and the Vancouver Canucks rallied for a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Thursday.
Boeser’s initial shot from the right circle was saved by Cal Petersen, and after his second attempt off a pass from Elias Pettersson was blocked by Jordan Spence, Boeser gathered the puck and scored on his third shot into an open net.
“It took me a few tries, but finally put it home,” Boeser said.
Alex Chiasson also scored, and Spencer Martin made 33 saves in his second straight start for the Canucks (40-30-11), who will conclude their season at the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
Vancouver is 32-15-9 since Bruce Boudreau was hired to replace Travis Green on Dec. 5.
“It still meant a lot to us and just to show what our team is capable of,” Boeser said. “I talk about it a lot, but it’s pretty amazing where we are right now compared to where we were at the beginning of the year. I think we all talk about that a lot and take a lot of pride in that.”
Dustin Brown played in his last NHL regular-season game for the Kings (44-27-11) after announcing earlier on Thursday that he will retire following the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Los Angeles, which had its five-game winning streak ended, will play the Oilers in the Western Conference First Round.
“He said it himself, he said that he’s thankful for this opportunity to be able to go into the postseason and go out swinging, not just in the last regular-season game and that’s it,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. “So obviously, we’ll pour everything we have into this playoff run and see where it takes us.”
Kopitar also made Brown captain for the game, a position he held from 2008-16, including when the Kings won the Cup in 2012 and 2014.
“I think it’s appropriate, a long-serving guy that lifted the Cup wearing the ‘C,'” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. “Tip of the hat to Anze for thinking of that and executing it and making it happen. That wasn’t management-driven or coach-driven, and that just goes to show how great individuals are and what they mean to each other. Very honorable thing to do.”
Petersen made 26 saves in his first start since April 10. He had not played since allowing six goals on 25 shots in relief of Jonathan Quick in a 9-3 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on April 13.
Boeser cut it to 2-1 at 6:52 of the third period with a one-timer from the high slot off a pass from Pettersson on a power play.
Chiasson tied it 2-2 at 14:31 when he knocked down Quinn Hughes‘ shot from the blue line and chipped it over Petersen in front.
McLellan attributed the Kings blowing a two-goal lead in the third period to a lack of concentration.
“I think we had already moved on to Edmonton,” he said.
Gabriel Vilardi gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 15:08 of the second period on a wrist shot from above the right circle through traffic. It was his fourth point (two goals, two assists) in the past two games after being a healthy scratch the previous four.
Adrian Kempe made it 2-0 at 18:50 of the second, shooting five-hole from near the left hash marks after catching Vancouver in transition. The goal was his 35th of the season, tying Anze Kopitar (2017-18) and Alex Frolov (2006-07) for the most by a Kings player since 2003-04.
NOTES: Pettersson had two assists and has six multipoint games in his past 11. … Canucks forward J.T. Miller had an assist and has 98 points (31 goals, 67 assists) this season. … The Canucks went 20-14-7 at home. … The Kings went 23-11-7 on the road. … Los Angeles sat out the line of Phillip Danault, Trevor Moore and Viktor Arvidsson.
