The Edmonton Oilers opened their season by pushing the pace early, but they still walked out of Tuesday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks with a 6-5 overtime loss and the same ugly ending that kept showing up last year.
The start looked promising. The finish did not.
Evan Bouchard was the night’s clear standout for Edmonton, earning a 9 and the game’s First Star after driving the offense from the back end. He started things with a sharp headman pass to Leon Draisaitl in the first period, then helped erase the early hole with a wrist shot through traffic that tied the game 1-1.
He kept rolling from there, taking a pass from Connor McDavid, settling it with a backhand and forehand, and sliding it in for the 2-2 goal. Later he got back on the 4-2, then buried the 5-4 goal with another clean wrist shot before adding a fifth point on the 5-5 goal with a chip to Draisaitl.
He played 25:41.
Bouchard wasn’t the only Oiler who drove the offense. Draisaitl looked dangerous throughout and finished with a 6.
He pushed up the right side for a chance early, fed Vasily Podkolzin for looks in the slot, and came within inches of a goal when a McDavid feed rang off the post on the second power play. His best work came later, though, when he knocked down a bouncing puck under pressure and delivered a perfect cross-ice pass to Podkolzin for the 5-5 goal.
Edmonton controlled 84% of the shot share at five-on-five with him on the ice.
Podkolzin matched that energy and maybe even topped it, earning an 8. He fired an early shot from the high slot, threw a heavy hit on the next shift, and kept finding himself around the net.
He was robbed with the cage open early in the second, had another chance right after, and later ripped a rocket to tie the game at 5. He finished with 5 hits and 85% of the shot share at five-on-five.
Connor McDavid finished with a 6, but the note beside his name was simple: he did not look fully “on”. He won the faceoff that led to the 1-1, set up Draisaitl on the power play for a chance that hit iron, and later fed Bouchard for the 2-2 goal.
He also turned the puck over in the offensive zone on the 4-2, but came right back with another faceoff win that helped set up the 5-4 goal. He led Edmonton’s forwards at 22:51.
Zach Hyman got a 5. He had a couple chances in a first-period power-play scramble, made a strong screen on the 5-4 goal, and had a late third-period chance at the crease off a McDavid feed that he couldn’t finish. He was on the ice for the overtime winner.
Alex Formenton also scored a 5 after making his presence felt physically and on the forecheck. He opened with a solid hit, earned an assist on the 2-2 by driving the puck hard up the wall, and drew Edmonton’s third power play. He finished with 5 hits.
Mattias Ekholm was steady enough at a 5, including a hard wrist shot the Vancouver goalie handled in the second. He also had three men to cover on the 5-2 goal and drew the penalty on the 5-5 goal. He finished plus-2.
Kasperi Kapanen earned a 5. He had a first-period shot, set up Draisaitl later in the period, and created a strong chance off a Jake Walman pass.
But he also blew a wheel in the offensive zone, which led to the 3-2 goal the other way. He was too high on the 6-4 overtime goal.
Walman and Connor Murphy each got a 4. Walman pinched on the 2-1, took a painful block from the high slot in the second, and had a dangerous point shot in the third.
He also made a terrific feed to spring Kapanen late. Murphy blocked three shots in the first, but was slow to turn on the 2-1 breakaway goal.
Colton Dach also landed at 4. He was denied point-blank on what looked like a wide-open net, set up Jones for another close-range look, and got back for Walman on the 2-1, though too late to stop the chance.
Max Jones earned a 5 for a solid night: a good feed to Dach, two quick chances of his own, and the forecheck that drew a power play late in the first. He also had 5 hits.
Mathieu Joseph was given a 5. His high-sticking penalty led to the 5-2, and while he had a few hits, he didn’t stand out much as the game wore on.
Ryan Shea received a 4 in his debut. He set up Podkolzin for a prime chance early in the second, but got turned around at the attacking blue line on the play that led to Vancouver’s 3-2 goal.
He also picked up a secondary assist on the 5-3 and lost the battle along the wall on the overtime winner.
Shakir Mukhamadullin posted a 5 after feeding a puck high-to-low into Trent Frederic for a dangerous deflection. Owen Michaels, who took the traditional solo rookie skate at the start of warmups, played 8:22 and got a shot block without any major mistakes, earning a 5.
Ike Howard also got a 5 after drawing an early power play behind the Canucks net, though a puck juggle on that man advantage led to a Vancouver odd-man break. He later swallowed a loose puck and nearly handcuffed the goalie high.
Frederic rounded out the group with a 5. He had a good deflection early in the first, threw a heavy hit into the sideboards, and helped create a chance for Howard by digging a puck off the boards. He finished with four hits and a shot.
Tristan Jarry took the loss and was given a 3 after stopping 17 of 23. He got a piece of Boeser’s partial break early, but couldn’t control the high wrister that made it 1-0.
He got only part of the 2-1 breakaway goal, was beaten five-hole from the dot on the 3-2, and had little help on the 4-2 and 5-2. He did flash a terrific glove save in overtime before the winner slipped through.
It was an opener that had speed, chances and plenty of offense, but the ending left no doubt: Edmonton needed more.
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The Canucks home opener turned into one of those early-season nights that can shake a building, with Edmonton leaving Rogers Arena with a 9-7 win in a game that had goals coming from every direction. Connor McDavid piled up a goal and four assists, Evan Bouchard kept making history with a record-setting start for a defenseman, and the kind of weird, wide-open script that follows a season opener became the main attraction almost from the opening stretch.
For Vancouver, the aftermath goes beyond a bad result. The game featured multiple first NHL goals and even required goaltending changes, a sign of how quickly things got away from the Canucks once the scoring turned into a track meet. In a matchup that already had enough drama to stick in memory, the bigger question now is how Vancouver sorts through the defensive chaos after letting Edmonton turn opening night into a showcase. [Read more 🡒]
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Oilers Showed Exactly Why Flames Fans Still Cant Relax
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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 🡒]