Well, that may end up being the game of the year.

The Canucks opened the scoring midway through the first period. With the Oilers on the power play, Leon Draisaitl’s shot was stopped, leading to a two-on-one. Paul Cotter led the charge and elected to shoot, beating Tristan Jarry high glove to make it 1-0.

FIRST GAME AS A CANUCK.
FIRST GOAL AS A CANUCK.

That’s a shorthanded goal for PAUL COTTER❗️

Late in the first period, the Oilers scored their first goal of the season. The Oilers won the faceoff, the puck came back to Evan Bouchard at the point, and the right-shot defenceman ripped it past the Canucks’ netminder.

Early in the second period, the Canucks restored their lead thanks to a breakaway goal. Liam Öhgren delivered a beautiful stretch pass to Marco Rossi, with the Austrian going five-hole on Jarry to make it 2-1.

ÖHGREN TO ROSSI? PERFECTION.

Again, the Oilers had an answer. Gaining the zone, the puck found its way to Connor McDavid. Bouchard crept in, got to a quiet spot, and beat Kevin Lankinen glove-side for his second in as many periods.

The Oilers didn’t have a good start to the third period. Entering the final frame tied at 2, Jarry allowed a weak five-hole goal early in the period to give the Canucks the lead. Less than two minutes later, the Canucks scored another breakaway goal. Finally, just five minutes into the third period, the Canucks took a three-goal lead thanks to an Elias Pettersson (forward) tip past Jarry.

POWER PLAY PETEY TO MAKE IT 5-2!

However, you can never truly count out the Oilers. With just over 11 minutes to play, Bouchard found Vasily Podkolzin down low, and the winger was able to stuff the puck past Lankinen to give the Oilers some life.

Just 24 seconds later, Evan Bouchard completed the hat trick, as his shot from the point off an offensive zone faceoff win was of the seeing-eye variety. It was the defenceman’s second hat trick of his career.

On a power play late in the third period with their netminder pulled, the Oilers managed to tie the game off Podkolzin’s second of the game, as he fired it past Lankinen. While it got the Oilers a point, the Canucks took the extra one as Cotter scored his second of the game after a dogged forecheck.

Takeaways…

Before we get into the bad, let’s go over the good. Evan Bouchard’s hat trick was the first hat trick by a defenceman on opening night since Mark Howe in the 1980-81 season. Additionally, Bouchard’s hat trick last season was the first one by an Oilers defenceman in about two decades; there were a lot of similarities between the two games.

Bouchard had a five-point night overall, and he was easily the Oilers’ best player. Vasily Podkolzin was second, managing to tie it late and putting two pucks in the back of the net. The Oilers showed resilience to get it to overtime as well. Down 5-2 midway through the third period, the fact they even managed to tie it is impressive.

Speaking of Podkolzin, he, Leon Draisaitl, and Kasperi Kapanen formed the Oilers’ second line. The trio owned 96.3 per cent of the expected goal share. Maybe don’t split that line up. On the other hand, the Isaac Howard, Owen Michaels, Trent Frederic line had a tough game, owning 29.03 per cent of the expected goal share.

One thing Mike Babcock did well in his Oilers’ coaching debut was evenly distributed ice time during five-on-five. The first, second, and third lines all played between 10 to 12:30 minutes.

On to the bad, Tristan Jarry picked up where he left off, allowing six goals on 17 shots for a .736 save percentage. He made some important saves late in the game, but he just needed to not allow six goals. Pretty simple.

It’s not all on Jarry, as the Oilers’ defence wasn’t good in this game, giving up far too many odd-man rushes. That needs to tighten up as soon as possible.

The Oilers’ dominated the first period and Canucks’ netminder Kevin Lankinen kept them in it. After the first period, though, the Oilers took their foot off the pedal and it was a far closer game. It’s another thing that needs to be better going forward.

Next up for the Oilers is another matchup against the Canucks, as the two teams play on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. MT.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFOEdmonton, DFOCalgary, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on X at @CynthiaRDelaney.

PRESENTED BY STAKE