Canucks hold off Oilers in Game 3 to retake playoff series lead

Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.

The Canucks now lead the best-of-seven matchup 2-1, with Game 4 set for Tuesday in Edmonton.

Elias Lindholm also scored twice for Vancouver, while Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller each contributed a pair of assists.

The Oilers used their league-leading power play to secure goals from Mattias Ekholm and Leon Draisaitl, and a late tally from Evan Bouchard.

Stuart Skinner stopped 11 of 15 shots before he was replaced by Calvin Pickard to start the third period. Pickard had three saves in his NHL playoff debut.

Canucks rookie goalie Arturs Silovs stopped 42 of 45 shots and improved to 4-2 in post-season play.

Edmonton's potent power play got to work early in the first period after Boeser was sent to the box for slashing.

An Evander Kane shot was blocked in front of the Vancouver net and the puck bounced out to Ekholm, who fired it past Silovs to put Edmonton up 5:37 into the game.

The veteran defenceman now has goals in three straight playoff games and is the first Oilers blue liner to achieve the feat since Paul Coffey in 1985.

The Canucks replied with a power-play tally of their own 8:45 into the first.

Stationed at the goal line, Hughes sliced a past to Boeser, who sent a long shot sailing through traffic. Lindholm tipped it in and levelled the score at 1-1 with his fourth goal of the post-season.

Vancouver took the lead midway through the opening frame after the Oilers left Boeser wide open in the faceoff circle. Miller sent the sniper a pass and Boeser ripped a shot past Skinner at the 13:18 mark.

Boeser boosted the Canucks' lead to 3-1 just over five minutes later. The winger picked a puck off Warren Foegele near the boards, took a couple of strides toward the net and buried his second goal of the night and seventh of the playoffs.

Edmonton nearly cut the deficit to a single goal in the dying seconds of the first when Derek Ryan rang a shot off the post.

Oilers fans celebrated early in the second when it appeared Corey Perry scored.

Silovs swept the puck off the goal line but Perry celebrated in front of the net. After review, officials determined there was no goal.

The Oilers made it 3-2 on a man advantage 3:36 into the period when Draisaitl sent a sharp-angle shot into Silovs' pad and it bounced in for the German forward's seventh of the playoffs.

Edmonton went 2-for-4 on the power play Sunday while Vancouver was 2-for-3.

The Canucks regained the two-goal advantage 17:35 into the second.

Miller blasted a long shot toward the Oilers' net and Lindholm picked it up, kicking the puck to his stick at the bottom of the slot, then shovelling a backhanded shot into the Edmonton net.

The Oilers kept pressing, outshooting the visitors 14-4 across the second, but couldn't get the puck past Silovs.

Edmonton opted to swap goalies for the third period, with Pickard taking over.

The 32-year-old netminder had a 12-7-1 record for the Oilers during the regular season with a 2.45 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage and one shutout.

Oilers pull goalie

Pickard wasn't tested by the Canucks until 11:55 into the third when he turned away a Nikita Zadorov snap shot.

Edmonton pulled the goalie in favour of an extra attacker with 3:23 left on the game clock and pressed its top scorers into action in a bid to even the score.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch got his players a brief rest when he called a time out with 2:39 to go.

The persistence finally paid off with 76 seconds left on the clock when Bouchard launched a long bomb on net and the puck bounced off Silovs' glove and in.

Knoblauch employed some late gamesmanship after the goal, putting Skinner in net to get his players a few extra seconds of breathing time. He pulled the starter again with a minute left, but Edmonton couldn't score the equalizer.