Kevin Lankinen stopped 31 of 36 shots and Vancouver defeated Edmonton 6-5 in overtime on September 29, 2026.
The Story
The Vancouver Canucks opened their season with a 6-5 overtime victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Kevin Lankinen played a central role, stopping 31 of 36 shots, including 12 of 13 in the first period. He allowed three goals in the third but still made 11 of 14 saves over the final stretch, including multiple high-impact saves that kept the game close.
Paul Cotter made an early impact for the Canucks in his first game with the team, scoring a shorthanded goal at the midway point of the first period. He later added an overtime goal on a partial breakaway, beating Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry to send the contest to overtime and ultimately complete Vancouver’s win.
Max Sasson also contributed offensively, scoring his first goal of the season while adding the primary assist on the game-winner. He finished with two blocked shots and a takeaway in 16:37 of ice time, and recorded a strong matchup against Connor McDavid—winning the high-danger scoring chances battle 3-2 in their 10:48 of ice time against each other and posting an xGF% of 60.63 versus McDavid, according to Natural Stat Trick.
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