Oilers vs. Canucks: Playoff History by the Numbers

But while they never won a playoff game at Northlands, the Canucks have enjoyed postseason success in Edmonton; in 2020, when Rogers Place served as the Western Conference “bubble” during the pandemic, Vancouver defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-1 in the best-of-five Qualifying Round, then knocked off the defending champion St. Louis Blues 4-2 in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs before being eliminated 4-3 by the Vegas Golden Knights.

1 – Oilers Playoff Hat Tricks Against Vancouver

Joe Murphy scored three times in Edmonton’s 5-2 victory over the Canucks at Northlands Coliseum on May 6, 1992, giving the Oilers a 2-1 series lead. Murphy’s three-goal performance proved the difference in the game and stands as the only hat trick scored by an Oiler against Vancouver in the playoffs.

Murphy also picked up an assist in the win, giving him four points, which is the most any Oiler has recorded in a postseason game against the Canucks. The closest a Vancouver player has come to scoring a playoff hat trick against Edmonton was in 1992 when Canucks forward Cliff Ronning had three two-goal games in the Smythe Division Final.

2 – Oilers Who Equalled Franchise Record vs. Canucks

Edmonton’s franchise record for most game-winning goals (GWG) in a single playoff series is 2. That feat has been accomplished 17 times by 14 different players and happened in both series against Vancouver. Murphy did it in 1992, scoring at 8:36 of overtime in Game 1 and then picking up a second GWG as part of his Game 3 hat trick.

Oilers forward Mike Krushelnyski accomplished an even rarer feat against the Canucks in 1986 when he scored the GWG in both the first and last game of a playoff series.

3 – Players Who Were Oilers for Both Series vs. Vancouver

Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish, and Esa Tikkanen are the only players to suit up for the Oilers in both the 1986 and 1992 playoff series. Only Doug Lidster and Jim Sandlak were in the lineup for the Canucks in both series.

Randy Gregg played in both series, but on a different side each time: the five-time Stanley Cup champion blueliner played for Edmonton from 1982 to 1990 before joining the Canucks in 1992 for the last season of his NHL career.

4 – Oilers Third Period Goals in Game 1 of 1986

The Oilers set the tone for their 1986 Smythe Division Semi-Final sweep by winning the opening game 7-3, erupting for four goals in the final 20 minutes. Krushelnyski scored twice, while Lowe and Kevin McClelland also tallied for Edmonton in the third period, turning a one-goal game into a blowout. Edmonton’s four-goal outburst was equal to the fifth most goals the Oilers have scored in a playoff period at the time, and today is tied for third most goals scored in the third period of a playoff game in franchise history.

5 – Years Without Playoffs in Edmonton After 1992

Their triumph against Vancouver in 1992 was the Oilers’ 16th series win since the 1987 postseason, but it was also their last for five years. Edmonton missed the playoffs for the next four seasons and didn’t return until 1997 when the Oilers upset the Dallas Stars in the opening round before falling to the Colorado Avalanche 4-1.

Vancouver, meanwhile, was just two years away from making a run to the brink of a championship, losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the New York Rangers in 1994.

The Oilers hope that this time around a victory will spark a championship run of their own and add another number to the franchise history book: Six Stanley Cups.