Quinn Hughes couldn鈥檛 quite find the words to describe his emotions Monday night.

The sting of losing Game 7 to the Edmonton Oilers on home ice was still washing over the Vancouver Canucks captain.

鈥淗ard to reflect,鈥� he told reporters. 鈥淚鈥檓 kind of just trying to take it all in right now.鈥�

After falling behind 3-0 in the second period, the Canucks clawed out a pair of late goals in the third period, then pushed hard for a last-minute equalizer.

The bid fell short and Vancouver dropped a 3-2 decision to Edmonton in the decisive game of the all-Canadian second-round playoff series.

The Oilers move on to face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference final, starting Thursday.

The Canucks are done for the season.

鈥淩ight now it just sucks to be that close,鈥� said Canucks forward J.T. Miller.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of balls here, a lot of resiliency and we鈥檝e come back a lot of times. And for the game to end like that, I think it鈥檚 a good representation 鈥� even though we didn鈥檛 win 鈥� but representation of the culture we鈥檙e trying to build here.鈥�

Vancouver got its chances Monday, including a four-minute power play in the first period when Ryan McLeod smacked centre Elias Pettersson in the face with his stick, drawing blood.

The Canucks failed to register a single shot on net with the man advantage

鈥淚 thought we lost some energy there because of it,鈥� said head coach Rick Tocchet. 鈥淭hat was a little bit of a zapper. But, for me, it鈥檚 all positive. I think the guys responded after the second half. They didn鈥檛 quit.鈥�

Edmonton smothered Vancouver鈥檚 power play over the final four games of the series, killing off 13 straight penalties across the stretch.

Getting shots on net was a struggle for the Canucks through much of the series, including Monday where the home team was outshot 29-17.

Conor Garland got Vancouver on the board 11:27 into the third and Filip Hronek followed with his first-ever playoff goal less than four minutes later.

鈥淲e just needed to get some momentum,鈥� said Pettersson. 鈥淥nce we got the goal, we got some juice. We got a second goal. That鈥檚 how it goes.

鈥淲e were close. One win away from conference finals. I truly believe we鈥檒l be back here.鈥�

The Canucks were playing without star right-winger Brock Boeser, who is reportedly dealing with a blood clotting issue.

Boeser led Vancouver in goals through both the regular season (40) and the playoffs (seven).

While his absence was noticed in Game 7, it was harder for Boeser than the team, Miller said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel sorry for us. I feel sorry for him,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 worked his ass off all year long and had a career year and how far he鈥檚 come as a player since I鈥檝e got here, being out there blocking shots with the goalie pulled. He鈥檚 that type of player now and for him not to be out there today must suck for him and I feel for him.鈥�

The Canucks hovered around the top of the league standings all season, but heading into the season few expected the team to make the playoffs.

Monday鈥檚 loss isn鈥檛 easy to take, Tocchet acknowledged, but the players have come a long way.

鈥淭his team brought respect back to this city and this journey,鈥� the coach said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 face it 鈥� a year-and-a-half ago or so it鈥檚 鈥楾his guy can鈥檛 play. This guy鈥檚 that.鈥� And I told them before the game that they put respect back in that jersey. Fans got something to be proud about. So that鈥檚 all because of the players.鈥�

Being eliminated from the second round of the playoffs will fuel the group moving forward, he added.

鈥淟osing always sucks,鈥� Tocchet said. 鈥淚t stings but it makes you even hungrier.鈥�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2024.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press