The Edmonton Oilers couldn’t have asked for much more fireworks in Mike Babcock’s coaching debut, but they still walked away with a 6-5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night after erasing a 5-2 deficit and forcing extra time.
For a while, it looked like the Oilers might control the night. They were the better team in the first period, and Evan Bouchard put them on the board late after the club won a faceoff and worked the puck back to him at the point. The right-shot defenceman hammered it past the Canucks’ netminder for his first of the season.
Vancouver struck first, though, and it did so while Edmonton was on the power play. Leon Draisaitl’s shot was stopped, the Canucks turned it into a two-on-one, and Paul Cotter finished the rush by beating Tristan Jarry high glove to make it 1-0.
The second period kept the back-and-forth feel alive. Liam Öhgren set up Marco Rossi with a sharp stretch pass, and Rossi went five-hole on Jarry to restore Vancouver’s lead. Edmonton answered again, with Connor McDavid helping spring Bouchard into space for another glove-side finish that tied the game at 2.
Then the third period turned ugly fast for Edmonton. Jarry allowed a soft five-hole goal early in the frame, the Canucks added another breakaway less than two minutes later, and Elias Pettersson tipped in Vancouver’s third goal of the period just five minutes into the final frame to make it a three-goal cushion.
That still wasn’t enough to bury the Oilers.
With just over 11 minutes left, Bouchard found Vasily Podkolzin down low, and Podkolzin jammed it past Kevin Lankinen to get Edmonton moving again. Twenty-four seconds later, Bouchard completed the hat trick when his point shot through traffic found its way through. It was the second hat trick of his career.
Edmonton kept pushing with the net empty late in the third, and Podkolzin buried his second of the night on the power play to tie the game and earn the Oilers a point. But Vancouver had the final answer in overtime, with Cotter scoring his second of the game after a hard forecheck to end it.
Bouchard’s night stood out in every way. He finished with five points and became the first defenceman to score a hat trick on opening night since Mark Howe in the 1980-81 season. His hat trick last season was also the first by an Oilers defenceman in about two decades, and this one carried plenty of similarities.
Podkolzin was right there behind him, scoring twice and helping drag Edmonton back from the brink. The Oilers also deserve credit for the comeback itself; being down 5-2 midway through the third and still getting the game to overtime showed real fight.
There was plenty to like about Edmonton’s second line, too. Podkolzin, Draisaitl, and Kasperi Kapanen controlled 96.3 per cent of the expected goal share, while the Isaac Howard, Owen Michaels, Trent Frederic line struggled and finished at 29.03 per cent.
Babcock’s first game behind the bench also featured balanced five-on-five usage, with the first, second, and third lines each logging between 10 and 12:30.
The biggest problem was in goal. Jarry allowed six goals on 17 shots for a .736 save percentage. He did make some key stops late, but the damage was already done.
Edmonton’s defence didn’t help much either, giving up too many odd-man rushes and leaving the game too open for a team that needed more structure.
And after a strong opening period, the Oilers let their grip slip. Kevin Lankinen kept Vancouver in it early, and once Edmonton stopped pressing, the game tilted into something far more dangerous.
The teams meet again on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. MT.
In Other News...
Oilers Prospect David Lewandowski Has A Bigger Role Than Fans Realize
David Lewandowski is still a name that mostly lives on the prospect lists, but the 19-year-old German forward has already built a rsum that gives the Oilers a reason to pay attention. Drafted out of the Western Hockey League and spending most of his time with the Saskatoon Blades, he has also carried Germanys colors in international play, giving Edmonton a look at how he handles bigger stages and different styles of competition. For a team always searching for young forwards who can grow into NHL roles, that kind of experience matters.
Lewandowski is back in juniors for another season, which keeps the timeline a little longer but also gives the Oilers more runway to watch his development unfold. The expectation is that he will turn professional soon and start the next phase of his career in the American Hockey League, where the real test becomes whether his game can translate against older, stronger competition before he ever gets a crack at Edmonton. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Trade Search Is Suddenly Focused On A Crucial Center Need
The Oilers search for help has started to sharpen around one very specific need: a right-shot centre. Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported that Edmonton has been exploring options with an eye toward adding younger, potentially undervalued players, a profile that fits the clubs broader effort to improve its roster without simply chasing the obvious names on the market.
What makes the hunt especially interesting is how thin the depth chart looks at that spot. Edmonton has only one right-shot centre under contract, Owen Michaels, who cracked the opening night roster, so the front office has real incentive to keep digging for a fit. Montreals Kirby Dach and former top prospect Shane Wright are among the names in the mix, which suggests the Oilers are looking for more than a stopgap as they try to solve a position that can shape the rest of the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Are Suddenly Taking A Real Early-Season Goalie Gamble
The early weeks of a season can turn on one decision behind the bench, and Edmonton is watching that closely as the goalie picture starts to take shape around a risky choice. Mike Babcock has opted to start Tristan Jarry against Vancouver, giving him a chance to rebound after a difficult season even though Devon Levi has been the hotter option recently.
For the Oilers, the timing matters because the net is one of those spots where confidence can shift quickly, and the margin for error is thin. If Jarry does not settle in, Edmonton will have other options on the horizon, with Frederik Andersen expected back by late October, which could make the early stretch feel even more like a test run than a settled plan. [Read more 🡒]