Oilers’ composure was key to avoid Game 7 collapse to Canucks

While the Edmonton Oilers were able to pull out a huge Game 7 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals, it did not come without a little drama.

The Oilers built up a 3-0 lead by the end of the second period, and were doing an excellent job of keeping the Canucks at bay for most of the game. However, goals from Vancouver’s Conor Garland and Filip Hronek in quick succession sent the Rogers Arena crowd into a frenzy and potentially inserted a seed of doubt in Edmonton.

However, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch called a timeout, attempting to slow the game down and help his players refocus. The move worked, as the team managed to limit the Canucks’ chances in the closing minutes, securing a 3-2 win.

What the Oilers showed is something they have rarely had in recent playoff runs, composure. The team bent in Game 7, but didn’t break, something that a team needs to do if they want to win the Stanley Cup.

On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk explain how the Oilers staved off the late Canucks surge.

Frank Seravalli: The Oilers nearly folded, they nearly crumbled…It was a timely timeout by Kris Knoblauch, and then at the next television timeout, it was Darnell Nurse huddling the team around to send a message to the group to stay on their toes, to continue to be aggressive. Aggressive what the Oilers were from puck drop. That’s a testament to this Edmonton team where a lot of weird things have happened to them this series.

I loved what Kris Knoblauch said after the game. He said, “We didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about what could have been.” What could we be talking about today? An abject end to an Oilers season.

You can watch the entire segment, and full episode here…