Connor McDavid and Edmonton defeated Vancouver 9-7 in a home-and-home after both teams took lessons from their first two games.
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The Edmonton Oilers earned a 9-7 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver on Thursday, following Vancouver’s 6-5 overtime victory in Edmonton on Tuesday.
After the game, Oilers captain Connor McDavid said his team recognized it needed to tighten its play even as it found a way to win.
“No one is in here (saying), you know, ‘Way to go!'” McDavid said. “Obviously we understand the game has got to look a little bit different. But I thought the first 40 (minutes) is what it could look like a lot of the time, and what it should look like a lot of the time.”
Edmonton head coach Mike Babcock said he liked how the rematch limited odd-man rushes and helped the Oilers control the chances, even as the defending still required improvement. “We didn’t give a ton of chance, but the puck ended up in our net,” Babcock said. “So, I’m happy for the guys, happy for myself. We got three out of a possible four points (over the two games), and we got tons of examples of where we’ve got to get better. I really liked our game in the first (period). I liked it for half the second, and then I didn’t like it at all. So we’ve got to learn to play a whole 60, not just 30.”
The Oilers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period on Thursday and expanded their advantage to 8-2 midway through the second. Vancouver responded with goals in the second period, with Arshdeep Bains providing the biggest late swing by diving to swat a rebound behind Edmonton goalie Devon Levi with 0.1 seconds left in the frame. The goal cut the Canucks’ deficit to 8-3 heading into the third.
Edmonton’s offence was powered by McDavid, who recorded a goal and four assists. Leon Draisaitl added two goals and a helper, while Evan Bouchard contributed with two assists.
For the Canucks, Brock Boeser said Edmonton’s early pace set the tone and that Vancouver will need to be ready to respond when an opponent pours on offence. “They were just way hungrier than us in the first, and they came out and they were winning their puck battles, and we weren’t ready for that, so we’ve got to learn from that,” Boeser said. “But I’m happy with the way we fought back. And there’s no quit in this room, and we just can’t let it get to that point.”
Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra said the team needs to shift momentum through more physical, aggressive play when games get difficult. “We have to have that mindset and that ability to shift the momentum of the game by just doing something better, being more physical, getting more aggressive, moving our feet, applying pressure in their end of the rink,” Malhotra said. “There’s a number of things that would come out of that. But that’s part of the growing process for us.”
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