Special teams was a big disadvantage for the Vancouver Canucks
As mentioned before, that depth at forward is very good for the power play of the Edmonton Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the goal that became the eventual series winner with the man advantage in game seven.
Their power play is clicking at about 37.5 percent which leads every team in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Cancuks only clicked at about 13.9 percent which is far off the mark of the Oilers.
On the penalty-killing side of things, the Oilers were strong there too. They gave up a power play goal to the Canucks which is something they didn't do vs the Kings but they still lead the entire playoffs with a 91.4 percent kill rate.
Vancouver wasn't terrible in this spot as they were sixth in the league with an 81.0 success rate on the kill but it wasn't good enough to beat the Oilers.
If you don't win the special teams battle, it is very difficult to control a game or series enough to win it. The Oilers did that and the Canucks didn't. As a result, the Oilers move on while the Canucks are headed home.
This was a great series that came down to the end but the Oilers prevailed. The Cancuks won't be bringing the Stanley Cup to Vancouver for the first time ever just yet.