The Oilers would never win it all until they ceased being that team that only won games that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl won for them. On Sunday, it was Stuart Skinner and Vincent Desharnais who were the leading men in Hollywood, and helped the Oilers take a stranglehold on this series.

No one on the Canucks, especially head coach Rick Tocchet, is arguing that Vancouver has been the better team so far. And yet, Tuesday at Rogers Arena, the Canucks will have an opportunity to win this series.

Kevin Gausman looked like his usual self against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t quite there yet at the plate, although they managed to eke out just enough offence to survive a couple late-game scares and end a five-game losing streak.

The theory went something like this: Having faced Edmonton for two straight springs, nobody knew better how to defuse this explosive Oilers offence than the stingy, defence-bent Los Angeles Kings. In practice, however, it has played out in the inverse. The Oilers have gone off.

Drafted in 2015 and on the Canucks since the spring of 2017, Boeser is one of nine Vancouver players getting their first experience in genuine playoff hockey.

Whatever approach the pivotal duo and their teammates try right now — be aggressive and attack early, be patient and grind — nothing seems to work.