The Edmonton Oilers looked like a team with something to prove early Thursday night, and for a long stretch against the Vancouver Canucks, they made it look easy. Then the game went completely off the rails.
Already short-handed with Zach Hyman joining Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Dickinson and Matt Savoie on the injured list, Edmonton still ripped through the first 40 minutes with pace, structure and production. By the middle of the second period, the Oilers had eight goals while the Canucks had managed just four shots.
That kind of start should have buried the game. Instead, Edmonton somehow had to hang on for a 9-7 win.
Head coach Mike Babcock didn’t hide what he saw, or what he still wants fixed.
“We understand that the game has to look a little bit different, but I thought the first 40 is what it could look like a lot of the time and what it should look like a lot of the time. Guys working hard, tracking back, responsible with the puck and just kind of rolling over them. We have to replicate that 40 minutes.”
Babcock later summed up the night with a mix of relief and frustration after the Oilers escaped with three of four possible points to start the season.
“I’m happy for the guys, happy for myself, we got three of a possible four points, but we have tons of examples of where we have to get better,” said Babcock, who could only chuckle at the way this one went south on his guys.
“We know we can be way better. What I saw tonight was a group that can play right, that knew what they were doing and then I saw a group that didn’t do it.”
Edmonton piled up the damage in every way possible during that first half of the night. The Oilers scored two shorthanded goals 34 seconds apart and added two power play goals as they ran Vancouver out of the building early.
Evan Bouchard kept his torrid start going as well, collecting three more points to add to the five he had on opening night. That gave him an NHL record for points by a defenceman in the first two games of a season.
And with 40 per cent of Edmonton’s power play unavailable because of injuries, the next men up delivered immediately. Vasily Podkolzin finished a play from Kasperi Kapanen for the Oilers’ first power play goal, making it 1-0 and setting the tone for a wild night that somehow only got wilder from there.
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Canucks Got Pushed Around In A Home Opener Fans Wont Forget
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 🡒]
Canucks May Have A Jake DeBrusk Decision Flames Fans Should Watch
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DeBrusk said he has to clean up parts of his game, while head coach Manny Malhotra framed the line juggling as an effort to test new chemistry rather than a firm judgment on one player. Even so, the Canucks know they need to tighten up defensively, and with a couple of key games looming, DeBrusks role is one of the more interesting decisions still taking shape. [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 🡒]