Connor McDavid tallied four assists, and rookie Matthew Savoie notched his first hat trick as the Edmonton Oilers sealed the second spot in the Pacific Division, securing home advantage for the opening playoff round with a decisive 6-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Alongside McDavid and Savoie, Josh Samanski, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Colton Dach also found the back of the net, while Evan Bouchard contributed three assists to the Oilers’ cause, capping a strong finish to the regular season with a 7-2-2 record in their last 11 games. The Oilers excelled when scoring first this season, boasting a 30-5-5 record in such games.
The Oilers welcomed back Zach Hyman and are anticipating the return of star forward Leon Draisaitl during the initial postseason series against the Anaheim Ducks. In contrast, Ty Mueller netted his first career goal for the Canucks, who ended their three-game winning streak with this loss.
Connor Ingram made 11 saves for Edmonton in goal, securing the victory, while Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen stopped 29 shots. Looking ahead, the Canucks will be participating in the draft lottery after finishing at the bottom of the NHL standings this season, while the Oilers are set to face the Anaheim Ducks in the playoff opener on Monday.
Notably, Connor McDavid finished the regular season with 138 points, claiming his sixth Art Ross title as the NHL’s top scorer. This achievement tied him with Mario Lemieux and Gordie Howe for the second-most titles in league history, trailing only Wayne Gretzky’s record of 10. McDavid also made history as the third player to register at least one point in all of his team’s wins this season, achieving 41 points in total. With his stellar performance, McDavid climbed to 47th place on the NHL’s all-time point scoring list, amassing 1,220 career points.
Additionally, Evan Bouchard wrapped up a remarkable regular season by leading all defensemen in scoring with 95 points. His impressive tally surpassed Ray Bourque’s total, placing him seventh in the list of blueliners with the most points in a season since 1989-90, a record headed by current Oilers assistant coach Paul Coffey, who notched 103 points in that season.