Connor McDavid wasted no time making his presence felt in the Edmonton Oilers’ second game of the season.
After opening the year without a goal, McDavid broke through with his first of the campaign and added four assists as the Oilers survived a frantic, back-and-forth night to beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-7 on Thursday in Vancouver.
Edmonton’s attack kept coming in waves. Evan Bouchard turned in a three-point night with a goal and two assists, and in the process became the first defenceman in NHL history with eight points - four goals and four assists - through his team’s first two games of a season.
Leon Draisaitl added two goals and an assist, while Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen each chipped in a goal and an assist. Owen Michaels scored his first NHL goal, and Ryan Shea picked up his first in an Oilers uniform.
The Oilers, now 1-0-1, did plenty of damage even without top-six forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.
Devon Levi made his first NHL start since Jan. 20, 2025, when he was with the Buffalo Sabres, and stopped 15 of 22 shots.
Vancouver got a big night from Marco Rossi, who scored twice and added an assist, while Elias Pettersson finished with a goal and two assists. Paul Cotter, Brock Boeser, Arshdeep Bains and Jamie Oleksiak also scored for the Canucks, with each of them adding an assist as well.
Kevin Lankinen was chased after allowing eight goals on 20 shots, finishing with 12 saves before being pulled midway through the second period. Leevi Merilainen, claimed off waivers by Vancouver on Friday and still wearing a Senators helmet, came on in relief and stopped 10 of 11 shots.
It was the second straight meeting between the clubs to turn into a shootout. On Tuesday, Vancouver had edged Edmonton 6-5 in overtime in the season opener for both teams.
The Canucks, now 1-1-0, found themselves chasing the game early. After scoring six times on Tuesday, Vancouver had trouble getting anything going through the first two periods.
The home team did not record its first shot on goal until 11:58 of the opening frame, when Linus Karlsson sent a wrist shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle toward the net. Vancouver did pick up steam in the third, with Rossi scoring twice and Pettersson adding another over a span of 5:44.
Edmonton’s start was relentless. Michaels and Bouchard scored 16 seconds apart in the first period, and the Oilers kept piling it on from there.
The decisive stretch came midway through the second period, when Edmonton grabbed an 8-2 lead on a Canucks power play. McDavid and Kapanen scored short-handed breakaway goals just 34 seconds apart, a brutal swing that put Vancouver in a massive hole.
One odd note from a wild night: Vancouver finished with more hits, 27, than shots on goal, 20.
The Canucks host the Calgary Flames on Saturday, while the Oilers return home to face the Seattle Kraken.
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Oilers Showed Exactly Why Flames Fans Still Cant Relax
Edmonton rolled into Vancouver short-handed at forward, yet still found plenty of ways to stress the Canucks in a wild 9-7 game that felt more like a track meet than a divisional test. Even without several key pieces, the Oilers kept coming with offense, turned special teams into a weapon and made it clear that the usual safety net around a high-scoring lineup is not one rivals can count on.
The most unsettling part for Vancouver was how many different ways the Oilers could hurt them once the pace opened up. The game featured two shorthanded goals and two power-play goals, and Evan Bouchard kept adding to an already eye-catching start while head coach Mike Babcock pointed to both the upside and the fixes still needed. For the Canucks, it was a reminder that even a compromised Edmonton roster can still turn a night into a problem. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Fans Just Got A Brutal Reminder Against Edmonton
The Canucks got a harsh reminder of how quickly a game can tilt when Edmontons top talent gets rolling. Connor McDavid was at the center of it, and the Oilers spent much of the night building a cushion that left Vancouver scrambling to catch up in a wild 9-7 result.
Even after the Oilers were in control for long stretches, the third period turned the game into more of a survival test than a stroll. Mike Babcock and McDavid both pointed to things the group still needs to clean up, which is the part Canucks fans will notice most after a night that briefly looked headed for something much more lopsided. [Read more 🡒]