McDavid and Draisaitl Carry Oilers Past Canucks 4-2
Edmonton beat Vancouver 4-2 at home and earned it. The Oilers had the better chances all night, and the scoreboard simply caught up with them.
Expected goals, a measure of how many goals a team's chances were worth, had the Oilers at 3.01 and the Canucks at 2.15. Edmonton scored a little more than its chances suggested. Vancouver scored about what its chances were worth. There was no fluke here. The Oilers outshot the Canucks 30-22 and attempted more shots overall, 50 to 44.
The night ran through Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who played on a line together. McDavid set up three goals. Draisaitl scored two goals on seven shots and added an assist. Jason Dickinson and Mattias Ekholm chipped in a goal each, and the power play went 1-for-3.
At the other end, Devon Levi stopped 20 of 22. Vancouver's power play went 0-for-2. Nobody on either side hit the post or crossbar. For the Oilers, the better chances were enough.
