Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid (97) passes the puck in front of Vancouver Canucks goalie Spencer Martin during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, on Saturday, January 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – Zach Hyman had a four-point night and set a new career-high in points Saturday as his surging Edmonton Oilers handed the beleaguered Vancouver Canucks a 4-2 loss.
Hyman contributed a goal and three assists for the Oilers (27-18-3), while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored and added two helpers, and Connor McDavid had one of each. Leon Draisaitl also scored his 28th of the season.
Andrei Kuzmenko and J.T. Miller replied for the Canucks (18-25-3), and Quinn Hughes registered two helpers.
Stuart Skinner made 27 saves for Edmonton, who stretched its win streak to six games. Vancouver’s Spencer Martin stopped 25-of-28 shots.
The Canucks lost their third game in four nights and are 1-9-0 in their last 10 outings.
Chants of “Bruce, there it is!” to the tune of Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There it is)” echoed around Rogers Arena several times throughout the game in recognition of Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau, who is expected to be fired in the coming days.
With 69 seconds left on the clock, Boudreau pulled Martin in favour of an extra attacker but his team couldn’t complete the third-period comeback.
Instead, Nugent-Hopkins put an easy shot into an empty net with 34.8 seconds to go.
Edmonton briefly appeared to go up 4-2 late third when Evan Bouchard’s long bomb hit Hyman in the crease and bounced into the Vancouver net.
The Canucks challenged the play for goaltender interference, and after an extended video review, the goal was waved off.
Vancouver cut its deficit to a single goal early in the final frame.
Stationed inside the blue line, Miller wound up and blasted a rocket through traffic and into the Edmonton net to make it 3-2 at the 3:26 mark.
Kuzmenko got the Canucks on the board 16:46 into the second.
Pettersson sent the Russian winger a pass from along the boards and Kuzmenko skated into the slot alone, sending a shot sailing past Skinner glove side for his 19th goal of his first NHL season.
A ferocious shot from Draisaitl gave the Oilers a three-goal cushion 9:26 into the second.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sent a long pass through the neutral zone to Hyman, who poked it to Draisaitl in the faceoff circle. The German sniper fired off a quick wrist shot past Martin for his 28th goal of the season.
Hyman’s assist on the play marked his 55th point of the season, setting a new career high. He had 54 points for the Oilers last year.
Edmonton went up 2-0 midway through the opening frame with a power-play tally after Vancouver was called for too many men.
A short-handed chance for Canucks defenceman Luke Schenn quickly backfired, with the Oilers collecting the rebound and sprinting back for an odd-man rush.
McDavid sliced a pass to Hyman across the slot and the left-winger tapped it in backdoor to put Edmonton up 2-0 at the 8:31 mark.
The Oilers came into the game boasting the league’s best power play (30.6 per cent) while the Canucks had the NHL’s worst penalty kill (66.4 per cent).
Edmonton went 1-for-1 with the man advantage Saturday and Vancouver was 0 for 2.
The Canucks peppered Skinner with shots early, but it was the Oilers who opened the scoring 1:26 into the game.
Hyman dished the puck to McDavid at the offensive blue line and the superstar sprinted past Vancouver’s Tyler Myers on a breakaway, then put a shot through Martin’s five hole for his league-leading 40th goal of the season.
GONE STREAKING
Three Oilers extended their point streaks on Saturday. McDavid is up to 10 games, with eight goals and eight assists across the stretch, while Draisaitl (six goals, five assists) hit the score sheet for a sixth straight outing. Hyman has four goals and eight assists across a five-game stretch.
Vancouver’s Kuzmenko is also on a roll with two goals and three assists in four appearances.
RACK ‘EM UP
The Oilers have averaged five goals per game across their current six-game win streak. They came into Saturday’s matchup third in the league in goals per game this season at 3.70.
UP NEXT
Canucks: close out a four-game homestand Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Oilers: host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2023.
