Paul Cotter scored twice, including the overtime winner, as the Vancouver Canucks opened their season with a 6-5 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
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The Vancouver Canucks opened the 2026-27 season under head coach Manny Malhotra with a 6-5 overtime victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday in Edmonton.
Vancouver scored first in a game that ended 2-2 after 40 minutes, then saw three goals scored in four minutes to start the third period.
Paul Cotter added a short-handed goal in his Canucks debut and then scored 1:59 into overtime for the winning goal. Cotter also recorded a pair of goals overall, finishing with the overtime winner.
Jamie Oleksiak said the Canucks were resilient and handled Edmonton’s pressure as the game moved forward, adding that there were “some good things to take away” while also noting “a couple things we can clean up.”
In addition to Cotter, Marco Rossi, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Max Sasson and Elias Pettersson scored for Vancouver.
The Canucks entered the game at 1-0-0 after a 25-49-8 record and a last-place finish in the NHL last season.
Kevin Lankinen made 32 saves to earn the win for Vancouver.
Pettersson said Vancouver wanted to clean up aspects of the game, noting that if the Canucks were up by a three-goal lead in the third, they should be able to win, but said they were “very happy with the win” after scoring in overtime.
Malhotra said he didn’t like Vancouver giving up three goals in the third period, while emphasizing the team’s resiliency and the penalty kill’s performance against Edmonton’s power play.
He also said there were “a lot of momentum swings” and energy shifts on the bench during the game.
Vancouver and Edmonton are scheduled to play again in Vancouver on Thursday.
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