If you were looking for a friendly NHL playoff series, the matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks is precisely the wrong place for you.
In last night’s matchup between the two Pacific Division rivals at Edmonton’s Rogers Place, chirps were flying from all sides in a down-to-the-wire matchup.
In one instance in the second period, Canucks forward Elias Lindholm seemed to tell Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl “I’m coming for you,” which the Edmonton player appeared to mostly laugh off.
That Lindholm Drai interaction 😂
Lindholm: “I’m coming for ya.”
Draisaitl: “Ooooo 😲” #LetsGoOilers @OilersNation @zjlaing pic.twitter.com/dQ0i19Fea0— Anthony (@theant117) May 15, 2024
Draisaitl was also seen giving Canucks forward Dakota Joshua a light stick tap and some likely not-so-friendly words of encouragement while celebrating his own first-period goal.
The game within the game. 😂
Catch Game 4 live on Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+! pic.twitter.com/TTJTIFUdmm
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 15, 2024
Lindholm and Draisaitl have a lengthy history facing off against each other from the six seasons the former spent in Calgary before getting shipped off to the Canucks this season. It’s not the first playoff series the two have met in, either, with the Oilers getting the best of Lindholm’s Flames back in 2022 in an epic five-game Battle of Alberta second-round series.
At least on this occasion, however, Draisaitl likely got the last laugh. While the Canucks tied the game and looked to force overtime via a goal credited to Dakota Joshua with less than two minutes to go in the third period, the celebration was short-lived. A little over a minute later — and with just 39 seconds left in regulation — Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard found the back of the net to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead and a Game 4 win to even the series at two wins each.
It’s been a feisty series all around, with a scrum at the end of Game 3 ending up with Oilers captain Connor McDavid taking a cross-check to the face that resulted in a one-game suspension for Vancouver defender Carson Soucy.
Game 5 goes Thursday night in Vancouver, with puck drop set for 7 pm PT/8 pm MT at Rogers Arena.
- You might also like:
- Oilers’ Perry mocks Canucks players with fake cross-check gesture