Ask any Vancouver Canucks fan how he or she felt about Game 4, and one of the first words would be "frustrated".
Wasted opportunities and sloppy play were the themes that forced this team to do practically superhuman feats after falling behind 2-0.
Some thought the team of destiny who likes to provide late-game heroics were back on track when an empty net yielded the game-tying goal by Dakota Joshua with 1:48 left in the third period, but the Oilers had the last word with Evan Bouchard scoring the game-winner with 39 seconds left in the game.
Oilers sparked by play of new goalie Calvin Pickard outperformed lackluster Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks' skates and sticks looked slower from the puck drop. The Oilers, buoyed by their backup goalie Pickard, played well in all facets of the game. There was one extremely close call and impressive save by Pickard that was millimeters away from being a goal.
The Canucks could not score in three power play opportunities, eight minutes total; whereas, the Oilers continued their laser-like and mechanical approach to taking advantage of their power plays.
JT Miller looked and sounded dejected and disappointed with his own play during a postgame press conference. He said he was tired of talking about power play missed opportunities and believed he should have been better at the end.
J.T. Miller speaks with the media following the Canucks Game 4 loss in Edmonton. pic.twitter.com/iNKtIX2vMI
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 15, 2024
The Canucks looked defeated long before the outcome of the final score. A day off and going home to Vancouver for Game 5 on Thursday night are hopefully what the doctor ordered.
For days hockey pundits have been beating the proverbial drum on how good the Edmonton Oilers are, and Game 4 is where it was most evident. The good news, besides the change of scenery for Game 5, is that the Canucks are resilient and good at compartmentalizing good and bad moments in the series and moving forward.
No one expected that this series could potentially be settled in five games so fans should not be too negative because the Canucks may be down but never out. Game 5 is less than 48 hours away.