Canucks edge Oilers, close in on 1st-place finish in Pacific

EDMONTON -- Casey DeSmith made 32 saves for the Vancouver Canucks in a 3-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Vancouver moved five points ahead of Edmonton for first in the Pacific Division. Vancouver has two games remaining, Edmonton has three.

“We knew this was a four-point swing toward that goal that we had,” DeSmith said. “It’s not the ultimate goal that we have this season, but it’s definitely something we’ve been working toward and it’s something we take pride in.

“They came out hard and they pushed in the beginning of the game, and then we found our legs and I thought we were the better team for the second two periods, for sure, and (we) got some big goals from some guys who you might not expect.”

Sam Lafferty, Pius Suter and Dakota Joshua scored for the Canucks (49-22-9), who swept the four-game season series against the Oilers.

"Three of those four games happened at the beginning of the season so long ago I don't know if anybody really remembers what happened there,” said Kris Knoblauch, who was facing the Canucks for the first time since taking over as Oilers coach on Nov. 13. “I think we'll look at tonight, in a competitive game, and see things we could have done better.

“We'll have to look very hard to see how to beat them, but we will."

Evander Kane scored, and Stuart Skinner made 24 saves for the Oilers (48-25-6), who were coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.

“We knew this was an important game,” Edmonton forward Warren Foegele said. “We’re just trying to play the right way heading into playoffs.

“I thought we played strong and there are areas to improve on, but obviously disappointed we didn’t get the two points.”

Oilers captain Connor McDavid missed his third straight game because of a lower-body injury.

“You definitely notice when he’s not out there,” Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers said. “When he is playing, your awareness on the ice seems to be a lot higher, making sure you know when he’s picking up speed so you don’t get burnt.

“Saying that, I don’t think those guys get enough credit for the depth they do have. Even without him, I thought they were still a good team. They were on a back-to-back, they pushed hard and they played a good hockey game.”

Lafferty put the Canucks ahead 1-0 with 16 seconds left in the first period, snapping a shot blocker side on Skinner from the right face-off dot.

Suter made it 2-0 at 11:00 of the second period, redirecting in a centering pass from Myers at the right hash marks.

Kane cut it to 2-1 at 17:48, tipping a point shot from Darnell Nurse over the right shoulder of DeSmith.

"He's a difference-maker. He has the ability to score a key goal like the important one he scored, and it was a skilled goal,” Knoblauch said. “He goes to the net and he was able to deflect that one in."

Joshua scored into an empty net at 18:13 of the third period for the 3-1 final.

“It’s a tough building to come into. They don’t lose very often here, and coming in here and letting them only score one goal, it’s a credit to a lot of guys,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said. “I thought defensively we were good, and they had a lot of chances, too."

NOTES: Edmonton had its 12-game home point streak end (10-0-2). ... Canucks forward J.T. Miller had an assist to extend his point streak to 10 games (three goals, 10 assists).