Challenge made.

Challenge accepted.

Less than 48 hours after Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet called out his team by saying there were 乌鸦传媒渇ive or six passengers乌鸦传媒� in the 3-2 loss against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of their series, the Canucks responded with their best effort against the Oilers and won Game 5 by a 3-2 score Thursday night in Vancouver.

With the win, the Canucks took a three-games-to-two lead in the series and are now one victory away from the Western Conference Final.

J.T. Miller, who had a subpar performance in game four, rebounded to score the winning goal with 33 seconds remaining in the third period to send Rogers Arena into a frenzy and give the Canucks the win. Miller scored after Elias Lindholm threw a puck at the Edmonton net which deflected off of Elias Pettersson乌鸦传媒檚 skate and hit the far post. The puck then bounced right to Miller, who banged it home.

乌鸦传媒淚 was kind of open for a split second early but I乌鸦传媒檓 glad Lindy didn乌鸦传媒檛 force it there because McDavid was ready to go the other way. It was one of those ones where we got a nice bounce. It went off his foot and the post. I got a little lucky there. It was just nice to get rewarded at the end of the game,乌鸦传媒� said Miller, who added that it was the biggest goal he乌鸦传媒檚 ever scored in his career.

The Oilers led 2-1 after the first period of play. Evander Kane gave the Oilers the lead at 4:34. Carson Soucy of the Canucks tied the game at 17:27 only to see the visitors regain the lead 23 seconds later on a goal by Mattias Janmark.

With all the focus on Pettersson because of his play in the series, ironically enough it was Phil Di Guiseppe who provided the biggest spark with a goal at 5:14 of the second period that tied the game at 2-2.

Di Guiseppe, along with linemates Nils Aman and Vasily Podkolzin, were outstanding in limited duty.

乌鸦传媒淎ms and Pods played amazing. They won every puck battle. It felt like any time I was moving my feet they were giving me the puck, so kudos to those guys. They really brought it tonight and I think we did a good job,乌鸦传媒� said Di Guiseppe, who made the most of the 9:13 of ice time he received.

And make no mistake about it, the performance of the fourth line gave the rest of the team plenty of juice.

乌鸦传媒淚t was huge. I thought that fourth line really helped us,乌鸦传媒� said Tocchet.

乌鸦传媒淗e乌鸦传媒檚 got the baby legs 乌鸦传媒� that乌鸦传媒檚 a real thing. I swear I乌鸦传媒檝e seen it a lot now where guys come in and play their best game. It does something to your brain. He was unbelievable,乌鸦传媒� said Miller of Di Guiseppe, whose wife gave birth to a baby boy (Sam) this week.

On a more serious note, Miller said the play of the fourth line inspired the rest of the team.

乌鸦传媒淭hat line created a lot of energy and I think it乌鸦传媒檚 contagious when our team skates and creates stalls with the forecheck. It seems like we do it for the next ten minutes every time. It乌鸦传媒檚 contagious in our lineup and they did a hell of a job of driving play, creating long shifts and then all they had was the punch-out and we got to go right back down their throat,乌鸦传媒� explained Miller.

Another big reason for the Canucks victory was the outstanding play of the penalty kill unit, which killed off five Oiler power plays. The Oilers had come into the game on a five-for-ten heater in the series but were stymied on this night.

乌鸦传媒淲e made a few tweaks. We had a little bit more pressure. It乌鸦传媒檚 a dangerous power play and we held it together,乌鸦传媒� said Tocchet.

乌鸦传媒淭he reads were good tonight and I thought we pressured them more than in previous games. We didn乌鸦传媒檛 sit back and give them as much time to set up their plays. Everybody that was out there stepped up big,乌鸦传媒� noted Dakota Joshua.

Now comes the tough part.

Finishing off the Oilers Saturday in Edmonton.

乌鸦传媒淭he next 48 hours is big in what we do and how we handle the prosperity. We win a big game 乌鸦传媒� we go up 3-2 乌鸦传媒� but it乌鸦传媒檚 going to be so tough there Saturday night. How we handle these next 48 hours mentally and physically乌鸦传媒�that乌鸦传媒檚 the key. That乌鸦传媒檚 playoff hockey. How do you do that?乌鸦传媒� said Tocchet, adding that the process would start as soon as he left the podium.

OVERTIME

* It was Di Giuseppe乌鸦传媒檚 third game back after being away for the birth of his son Sam after a complicated pregnancy for his wife Maggie. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 been a battle for nine months for her. Obviously it乌鸦传媒檚 my job and I乌鸦传媒檝e been away a lot and she乌鸦传媒檚 been in the hospital a lot. We乌鸦传媒檝e had a lot of family come in and out and support us. Like I said before, it takes a village and it乌鸦传媒檚 a blessing we got one,乌鸦传媒� said Di Giuseppe, who was clearly emotional talking about the subject.

* Lost in the all the post-game hoopla was the fact that Silovs made a huge save on Edmonton乌鸦传媒檚 Connor Brown in the first period with the Oilers leading 1-0. Brown found himself alone in the slot and fired a shot that Silovs stopped with his left pad. 乌鸦传媒淚t was huge 乌鸦传媒� that乌鸦传媒檚 a two-goal swing. It was a money save. Like I乌鸦传媒檝e said, I don乌鸦传媒檛 think the moment is too big for him. It was a solid effort from Artie,乌鸦传媒� said Tocchet. Silovs made 21 saves for Vancouver while Edmonton乌鸦传媒檚 Calvin Pickard stopped 32 shots.

* The 3-2 win marked the ninth consecutive one-goal game the Canucks have played in the post-season.

* You would think that the Canucks physicality and the number of minutes the Oilers top stars are playing bodes well for Vancouver as the series moves on. As Joey Kenward of Sportsnet tweeted, the Canucks have outhit the Oilers 214-143 in the first five games. Conor McDavid is the most obvious example of big minutes - averaging 25:42 of ice time as compared to 21:50 in the L.A. series. Despite those numbers, Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch isn乌鸦传媒檛 concerned. 乌鸦传媒淚 think they can handle the high minutes. We乌鸦传媒檙e not practicing in between games. I think they recover. We get all the information from our sports scientist who watches that and is always cautious about the guys being tired and worn down and we haven乌鸦传媒檛 got any of that (type of) information,乌鸦传媒� said Knoblauch.

Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob 乌鸦传媒渢he Moj乌鸦传媒� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.

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