Oilers rally for shootout win against Canucks in regular-season finale

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers won their regular-season finale without Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, 3-2 in a shootout against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place on Friday.

Mikko Koskinen made 39 saves for the Oilers (49-27-6), who rested McDavid and Draisaitl before the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Edmonton, which finished second in the Pacific Division, will face the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference First Round. Game 1 of that best-of-7 series will be played here on Monday.
McDavid leads the NHL this season with 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists); Draisaitl has 110 points (55 goals, 55 assists).
"We didn't start the game the way we wanted to start," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We were on our heels for a little bit, but I thought we settled in and I thought players played towards an identity of how we wanted to play, and we stuck with it. I think that's a good sign that we found a way to win."

Conor Garland had a goal and an assist, and Spencer Martin made 31 saves for the Canucks (40-30-12), who finished fifth in the Pacific. They went 32-15-10 after Bruce Boudreau replaced Travis Green as coach on Dec. 5.
"I told them I was really proud of them," Boudreau said. "I can take maybe four or five game where we didn't start out very well, but out of the 50-some games that I was here, the effort was there almost every night. That's all you can really ask, is effort, try, play the right way, and they really started to do that especially towards the last half of the year, playing against good teams that competed really hard."
J.T. Miller gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 17:31 of the first period when he took a pass from Garland and scored from the high slot.
Miller finished the season with 99 points (32 goals, 67 assists).
"We were trying to get him to 100 tonight, so that one stung," Garland said. "We were looking for him lots tonight, and I thought when we got that first one, we got it early enough, so it stinks. We had a couple of chances too."

Brett Kulak tied it 1-1, 31 seconds into the third period with a shot from the point through a screen, but Garland gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead at 2:35.
"We're pretty proud of the way we fought," Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers said. "You look back at where we were after the first six weeks of the season, I don't think anybody expected us to make it this far. It hurts that we came up short, but there were a lot of positive things."

Tyson Barrie tied it 2-2 at 9:10 when he took a pass from Zack Kassian and scored on a shot from the point.
Devin Shore scored the lone goal of the shootout in the sixth round.
"The way we have been playing over the last little while, even the last two-and-a-half months, it is all building towards what we are going to be stepping into [playoffs] on Monday," Barrie said. "I think we are in a good position, we are a confident group and we know what is expected of us and what our systems are. We are just ready and excited to execute it. Good teams find a way to win, I think that rings really true."
NOTES: Edmonton went 26-9-3 after Woodcroft replaced Dave Tippett on Feb. 10 … Miller played 24:15, the most of any forward on either team. … Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse missed his fourth consecutive game because of a lower-body injury. His status for Game 1 against the Kings is unknown. … Vancouver outshot Edmonton 17-6 in the first period.