National Hockey League
Vancouver 6, Edmonton 3
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, May 6, 2021
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Derek Nansen
Attendance: N/A

Nils Hoglander, Jayce Hawryluk, Travis Hamonic and Brock Boeser each had a goal and an assist as the Vancouver Canucks snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory against the host Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

Jack Rathbone scored his first career goal and Tyler Graovac also tallied for the Canucks (20-25-3, 43 points), who are in last place in the NHL's North Division. Goaltender Thatcher Demko made 39 saves, including one on a penalty shot by Edmonton's Connor McDavid, the league's leading scorer, in the third period.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice and Jesse Puljujarvi also tallied for second-place Edmonton (32-18-2, 66 points), with all the goals assisted by McDavid. That gave McDavid 96 points this season as he neared the 100-point plateau in the pandemic-shortened 56-game schedule.

The Canucks scored on their first four shots in the opening 12 1/ 2 minutes to chase Oilers starting goaltender Mikko Koskinen.

Hoglander scored just 31 seconds in, taking a pass from J.T. Miller from behind the Edmonton net, deking a defender and putting a wrist shot past Koskinen from the right faceoff circle.

An Oilers turnover in their own end led to the second goal, as Hawryluk's shot was deflected into the air by a defenseman before Rathbone jumped on the puck and put a one-timer from between the faceoff circles into the net.

Hamonic made it 3-0 at 6:33 on a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that went off Koskinen's right shoulder and fell just over the goal line.

Hawryluk beat Koskinen between the pads on a rebound from the slot at 12:22. The goaltender reacted by shattering his stick on the left post and was replaced by Mike Smith, who stopped 21 of 23 shots the rest of the way.

Draisaitl and Puljujarvi scored late in the first period to pull the Oilers within 4-2.

Demko thwarted the Oilers' comeback bid by stopping all 17 of their shots in the second period.

Graovac scored the lone goal of the second period to make it 5-2.

Draisaitl and Boeser traded goals in the third.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vancouver   Edmonton
Brock Boeser 2 Points Connor McDavid 3
Brock Boeser 1 Goals Leon Draisaitl 2
Brock Boeser 1 Assists Connor McDavid 3
N/A Power Play Goals Leon Draisaitl 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Thatcher Demko .929 Save Percentage Mike Smith .913
Thatcher Demko 39 Saves Mike Smith 21
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vancouver 27 6 0-4 4-5 20 31
Edmonton 42 3 1-5 4-4 18 27
Upcoming Games
  • Edmonton will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Oilers have a W/L % of .581 after a win and .737 after a loss.
  • Vancouver will play their next game on the road against Edmonton. The Canucks have a W/L % of .474 after a win and .357 after a loss.