from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

Did anybody figure NHL Game 724 in the middle of January between the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks would actually have playoff, rather than lottery implications for both teams?

So here we were Wednesday night as the Oilers and Canucks went at it for wild card spots. Maybe not exactly Tampa Bay against Winnipeg or Calgary in an offensive battle, but still awfully good theatre.

“Every game is a sudden death elimination game,” said Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock, hours before his club won 3-2 in a shootout as Alex Chiasson ripped one over Jacob Markstrom’s glove on the sixth shooter.

“We’re going to be like this for a couple months. It’s just the way it is. You’re going to play well in some games and not win or you’re going to have some really emotional wins or losses.”

continued

All the game highlights are below.