National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Edmonton 7, Vancouver 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 27, 2013
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees: Don VanMassenhoven, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Mike Cvik, Jay Sharrers
Attendance: 16839

Oilers 7, Canucks 2: Rookie Nail Yakupov recorded his first career hat trick as host Edmonton scored five goals in a 3:35 span late in the third period to win the season series against Vancouver for the first time in seven campaigns.

Rookie defenseman Justin Schultz recorded a goal and three assists while Jordan Eberle scored twice for the Oilers, who finished with 13 goals over two consecutive victories after winning one of their previous 10 contests. Devan Dubnyk made 28 saves and Jerred Smithson capped the scoring with his first point as a member of the Oilers.

With the score tied 2-2, Schultz began the barrage at 13:17 of the third period, pinching down from the point and sliding Taylor Hall’s centering feed between Roberto Luongo’s pads from the doorstep. Yakupov put the puck into an open net 59 seconds later and Eberle fired a wrist shot over Luongo’s glove 21 seconds after that.

Yakupov, who leads all rookies with 17 goals, completed his hat trick with a backhand shot off a rebound on the doorstep at 15:47 to make it 6-2. Yakupov finished April with 11 goals in 14 contests. Smithson completed the outburst with 3:08 remaining.

Derek Roy and Tom Sestito scored for the third-seeded Canucks, who will face San Jose in the first round of the playoffs. Luongo made 30 saves in his second straight start.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Canucks G Cory Schneider missed the contest - his second in a row - with what coach Alain Vigneault called a “body injury.” LW Daniel Sedin also sat out while captain Henrik Sedin played just one shift to extend his ironman streak to 629 games. ... Roy’s tally late in the first period gave Vancouver a power-play goal in each of the last four games and six of its last seven. ... Edmonton finished 3-1-1 against the Canucks after opening the season with a 3-2 shootout victory, losing 3-2 in overtime and exchanging 4-0 shutout decisions.
Top Game Performances
 
Vancouver   Edmonton
Derek Roy 1 Points Justin Schultz 4
Derek Roy 1 Goals Nail Yakupov 3
Kevin Bieksa 1 Assists Justin Schultz 3
Derek Roy 1 Power Play Goals Nail Yakupov 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Roberto Luongo .811 Save Percentage Devan Dubnyk .933
Roberto Luongo 30 Saves Devan Dubnyk 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vancouver 30 2 1-3 3-4 32 31
Edmonton 37 7 1-4 2-3 20 36