Oilers advance to West Final again after holding off Canucks in Game 7

The Oilers will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. Edmonton last reached the Stanley Cup semifinal in 2022, when it lost to the Colorado Avalanche.

That series will feature two general managers who worked together for a long period of time in the past.  For 15 years of Edmonton GM Ken Holland's stint as general manager with the Detroit Red Wings, from 1998-2013, his assistant was current Dallas GM Jim Nill.

The Oilers, who were able to win without a point from Connor McDavid and only an assist by Leon Draisaitl, controlled play for most of the contest Monday night, building a 3-0 lead in the second period. 

But Conor Garland put Vancouver on the board with 8:33 left, capitalizing on a turnover by Ryan McLeod and defenseman Filip Hronek made it a one-goal game with 4:36 left.

Vancouver was without star forward Brock Boeser, who missed the game because of a blood-clotting issue. His seven goals led the Canucks in playoffs and his 12 points was tied for the team lead.

He was replaced in the lineup by Ilya Mikheyev, who hit the side of an open net on a breakaway chance a little more than six minutes into the game.

Defenseman Cody Ceci gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead, 1:16 into the second period. He scored off the faceoff on a slap shot from the right point. It was Ceci's second goal of the playoffs.  

The goal came 1:02 after the Oilers had killed off a Canucks' four-minute powerplay that began late in the first period when McLeod took a high sticking double minor against Elias Pettersson with 3:46 left in the opening period.

Zach Hyman  made it 2-0, 5:50 into the middle period. He tipped in a shot by defenseman Evan Bouchard. It was Hyman's playoff-leading 11th goal.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' power-play goal with 4:38 left in the second made it 3-0. He put in a carom off the boards behind the net from the bottom of the left circle for Nugent-Hopkins' fourth goal of the postseason.

Bouchard had two assists and goaltender Stuart Skinner made 15 saves.

Vancouver goalie Arturs Silovs stopped 26 shots.