Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the season and recorded four assists as the Edmonton Oilers outlasted the Vancouver Canucks 9-7 on Thursday.
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Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the season and finished with four assists as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-7 on Thursday.
Evan Bouchard had a three-point night for Edmonton, collecting a goal and two assists as the Oilers improved to a 1-0-1 record. Bouchard became the first defenceman in NHL history to post eight points (four goals, four assists) through his team’s first two games.
Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist for the Oilers, with Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen adding one each. Owen Michaels scored his first NHL goal, and Ryan Shea also scored his first in an Oilers uniform.
Devon Levi made his first NHL start since Jan. 20, 2025, when he was with the Buffalo Sabres. Levi stopped 15 of the 22 shots he faced.
Marco Rossi scored twice for Vancouver and added an assist, while Elias Pettersson recorded a goal and two assists. Paul Cotter, Brock Boeser, Arshdeep Bains and Jamie Oleksiak each had a goal and an assist.
Kevin Lankinen made 12 saves on 20 shots for the Canucks before being pulled midway through the second period. Leevi Merilainen came on in relief and stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced; Merilainen had been claimed off waivers by Vancouver on Friday and was still wearing a Senators helmet.
The Oilers and Canucks met again after a high-scoring season opener earlier this week, when Vancouver claimed a 6-5 overtime win on Tuesday.
Vancouver struggled to generate offence through the first two periods after posting six goals in the opener, and did not get its first shot on goal until 11:58 of the first period when Linus Karlsson sent a wrist shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle.
In the third period, the Canucks pulled ahead with two goals from Rossi and one from Pettersson over a stretch of five minutes and 44 seconds.
For Edmonton, the first period included goals from Michaels and Bouchard 16 seconds apart, with the team missing top-six forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.
Midway through the second frame, Edmonton built an 8-2 lead on a Canucks power play when McDavid and Kapanen scored short-handed breakaway goals 34 seconds apart.
Vancouver had 27 hits and 20 shots on goal in the game.
Next, the Canucks host the Calgary Flames on Saturday, while the Oilers host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
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