GAME STORY: Oilers 2, Canucks 1

VANCOUVER, BC - It was a perfect performance from the Oilers special teams, and an almost perfect night for goaltender Mikko Koskinen.
The Oilers power play went a perfect 2-for-2, getting goals from Warren Foegele and Leon Draisaitl, while Koskinen had his shutout spoiled with five seconds left in regulation as the Oilers improved to 6-1-0 with a 2-1 road win over the Vancouver Canucks.

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FIRST BLOOD

The second power-play unit cashed in as the Oilers first man-advantage winded down into its final seconds. Darnell Nurse let fly a wrist shot the hit Tucker Poolman on its way through before Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko was forced to kick out an awkward rebound right to the stick of Warren Foegele. The winger buried the chance for his second goal of the season, with Nurse and Evan Bouchard earning assists on the marker 8:21 into the opening frame.

PLAY OF THE GAME

The NHL's top power-play outfit wasn't going to go quiet. On Edmonton's second crack at the man advantage in the final three minutes of the second frame, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected McDavid's redirected shot in front and quickly fed Draisaitl to one-time home his patented clapper from the right circle with 40 seconds to go in the second period.

SAVE OF THE GAME

With the Oilers down 6-on-4 late in the game and Nurse in the box for Edmonton's only infraction of the night, Koskinen made his biggest save when he slid over to deny Elias Petterson with 1:34 on the clock in regulation. Brock Boeser threw the puck back towards the middle of the ice, and Koskinen came back into position quickly to keep stone his fellow Scandinavian to keep it 2-0 before his shutout was spoiled in the final seconds by Brock Boeser.

TURNING POINT

What can you say about the Oilers man-advantage at this point? Nugent-Hopkins said pre-game how their special teams complement a strong 5-on-5 game. Tonight, it sure proved that again. Draisaitl's one-timer in the final minute of the middle frame made it a perfect 2-for-2 for the Oilers on the night, improving their conversation rate to 47.8 percent (11-for-23) with the eventual game-winner.

TOP PERFORMER

Koskinen came oh so close to securing his shutout -- five seconds to be exact -- but the big Finn still deserves all the plaudits. The netminder improves to 4-1-0 on the year, being called upon to do the heavy lifting in the Oilers crease with the absence of Mike Smith due to a lower-body injury.

PARTING WORDS

Foegele the Oilers earning the victory tonight in Vancouver:
"It's been good the last few games. I thought today we played really fast. When you're playing fast, you're not really hanging out in your own zone too much. We're playing more in the o-zone. The D have been great. I thought Mikko played unbelievable. It's crappy that we didn't help him there at the end, but it was a good road win. We take the two points and move on."

Zach Hyman on a perfect special teams night for the Oilers of 2-for-2 on the power play and an important late kill on Vancouver's only man advantage:
"Special teams are a huge part of the game, especially later in the season. Everything is so tight, so to have elite special teams on both ends is really important. Obviously, the power play is clicking. Both units got one, and Mikko played unbelievable. That helps, too."
Head Coach Dave Tippett on the second power-play unit chipping in a goal tonight and a positive performance for the team:
"It came up with a big goal tonight for us, that's for sure. A real big goal. It got us going. Our power play got us a big one at the send of the second, and it was enough to get us the win."
"We have a lot of good chances in the game. Demko played really well, but I liked the way we played. The first period we played really well, and then in the second period we turned some pucks over and chased a little bit. But even in the third period, we were pretty strong. It got a bit scrambly at the end killing a penalty, but for the most part, we did some things well and it was well enough to win."