How the Canucks found their power play way in Game 2 vs. Oilers

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If the Vancouver Canucks are going to have any hope of winning three more games against the Edmonton Oilers in this ongoing Pacific Division final series, a few things are obvious:

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• They need to contain Conor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers’ power play as best they can

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• They need their own power play to find goals

• They need Elias Pettersson to score again and again and again.

No surprisingly: points two and three are closely related.

Pettersson’s goal in the first period on Friday night, putting the Canucks up 1-0 early in Game 2, was a confidence-building strike for player and team alike.

The player, of course, has been struggling to hit full speed for weeks, whether because he’s been managing his way through an injury — his coach insisted earlier this week he’s not — or just simply the biggest challenge to his self-confidence he’s faced in his professional career.

Let’s take a look at how the goal happened and what it shows about how the Canucks can find success on the man advantage.

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First goal in Game 2: Vancouver 1-0 Elias Pettersson, 4:14 of the first period

The specific goal sequence, J.T. Miller said after the game, is a move he and his teammates practise a lot.

To get it working so smoothly with a perfect pass through a wide-open shooting lane, creating an easy one-timer for Pettersson, is about from where Miller is able to operate.

“(Penalty killers) do a good job of keeping me outside the dots and when that happens, it’s hard to make those plays, but on that one I was able to get on the inside,” he said.

But let’s dial back to before the actual passing play and start with the zone entry.

In the Nashville series, Vancouver struggled to even gain the zone on the power play.

But so far against the Oilers, the Canucks have done well to keep their feet moving once they’ve gained the zone.

On the sequence that ends with Pettersson’s one-timed strike off the right wing, he carried the puck into the zone on the left wing. He off-loaded the puck to Miller just inside the zone, but his powerful skating stride drew the Oilers’ defenders, creating space for Miller, who kept his feet moving.

He quickly fired a pass across the top of the zone over to Elias Lindholm, who then moved the puck back to Quinn Hughes.

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While all this was going on, Pettersson skated quickly around behind the net and set up on the right flank, but closer to the Oilers’ net than he’s been able over the past season or two.

He put himself into prime shooting position and the Oilers didn’t seem to notice that he was in such a good spot.

It’s here where the goal really happens.

The quick puck movement between Miller, Lindholm and Hughes kept the Oilers from setting up as well as they would have liked. Most NHL penalty kills now set up in a formation that’s known as “wedge plus one,” where the penalty-killing forward who is not on the side of the ice where the puck is drops back to the front of the net. And the penalty-killing forward on the puck-side puts pressure on the puck.

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In this setup, Adam Henrique was the low forward helping out in front, except he didn’t get low enough. There was a chance for Miller to pass through to Pettersson. Miller made a move to lock in that passing lane.

He took a couple hard strides as if he was going to shoot off the left flank, something he often does.

But in this case, he had a different plan. Oilers defenceman Vincent Derharnais saw Miller moving in and moved to his right to get into Miller’s shooting lane. That solidified the passing lane and Miller, the Canucks’ best passer, nailed Pettersson’s shooting position.

The perfectly-placed puck was an easy one-timer for Pettersson, who made no mistake.

The Canucks learned a lot in these two games about how the Oilers killed penalties in the first two games. Can they keep taking advantage?

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pjohnston@postmedia.com

It’s game day! Read more of our Canucks vs Oilers Round 2 playoff coverage:

• Canucks Stanley Cup Coffee: Overtime loss left bad taste, so did odd officiating

• Revisiting the Canuckmobile — a Neverland moment, a fantasy lived

• Vancouver vs. Edmonton: Here are 8 things each city is ‘winning’

• Canucks vs. Oilers: Arturs Silovs or Casey DeSmith, who’s your goalie for Game 2?

• Canucks vs. Oilers: Kindergarten class in Carson Soucy’s Alberta hometown is divided on series

• Canucks viewing parties: Here’s where to watch the Canucks vs. Oilers Round 2 playoffs

• 5 crucial questions facing the Canucks in Round 2

• Could Thatcher Demko really play vs. the Oilers?

• Canucks vs. Oilers: All a bloodless rivalry needs is a playoff series

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• ESPN seems to hate Vancouver

• Canucks this week, playoff edition: Underdogs against the Oilers — just the way we like it

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