The second round of the NHL playoffs delivered four very compelling and entertaining series, but only the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers are heading for a Game 7.
The Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, and Florida Panthers all managed to pull off road Game 6 victories to rob fans of even more Game 7 action, but Edmonton's 5-1 win over Vancouver on Saturday night means the Western Canada battle will have a winner-take-all thriller.
The Oilers gave their net back to Stuart Skinner from Calvin Pickard for Game 6, and the often-maligned Skinner came up with the performance he needed to extend the series while Edmonton's big guns provided him plenty of offensive support.
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Canucks, Oilers Set to Deliver in Game 7
As it turns out, the blazing hot start that the Vancouver Canucks got off to while the Oilers floundered in October now means a lot, as the Canucks have home ice over the Oilers in this do-or-die contest.
This series has had plenty of twists and turns, as the Canucks have taken 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 series leads, with the Oilers responding with a win each and every time.
Now, the Canucks will need to come up with one more win to keep the pattern going and finally eliminate the Oilers. In doing so, they'd clinch their first appearance in a conference final since 2011, when they lost the Stanley Cup Final to Boston as Presidents' Trophy champions.
At stake for Edmonton is another shot at a conference final with this group, which was swept out of that series by the eventual Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in 2022.
Vancouver will continue to rely on Arturs Silovs between the pipes, as head coach Rick Tocchet ruled out a Game 7 return for usual starter Thatcher Demko.
In a Silovs vs. Skinner matchup where both goalies could steal or cost the team the game, it might come down to which team gets more plays from its biggest players.
In any game like that, the Oilers are favorites thanks to the presence of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but Brock Boeser has torched the Oilers in this series, and Elias Pettersson is due for a breakout at some point.
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