The Canucks scored four straight in the third period to rally from 8-2, but fell 9-7 to the Edmonton Oilers in their home opener at Rogers Arena.
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The Vancouver Canucks dropped a 9-7 decision to the Edmonton Oilers in their 2026-27 home opener at Rogers Arena, with Vancouver mounting a late third-period rally after a difficult first period.
Six different Canucks recorded goals in the game, including Paul Cotter, Brock Boeser, Arshdeep Bains, Marco Rossi (twice), Elias Pettersson, and Jamie Oleksiak.
Kevin Lankinen started in goal for Vancouver but was pulled after allowing eight goals on 20 shots. Leevi Meriläinen took over at the halfway point, stopping 10 of 11 shots.
Edmonton took control early, outscoring Vancouver in the first period and leading 4-0 after 20 minutes. Vancouver took three penalties in the first period, including one that led to an Oilers power-play goal.
One of Edmonton’s first-period goals included a puck that went off Tom Willander and into the net as the period unfolded.
In the second period, Vancouver continued to find ways to create offence, including a run of scoring chances tied to line changes. Cotter was described as being promoted in Vancouver’s forward pairings after the first period, and he opened the scoring by finishing a play set up by Liam Öhgren’s forecheck.
The game tightened further before breaking open again in the third period. Vancouver surrendered two short-handed goals on its first power play of the night, and Edmonton added to its lead with an 8-2 advantage.
Vancouver’s comeback began in the third period, when it scored four consecutive goals to reduce the deficit from 8-2 to 8-6. The scoring stretch included Marco Rossi’s goals at 1:53 and 4:43, and it also featured Elias Pettersson’s power-play goal at 7:37.
Edmonton still had answers, scoring again at 9:26, before Jamie Oleksiak scored at 18:31 to complete the scoring for Vancouver.
After the loss, Edmonton’s approach was described as more prepared early, with the Oilers holding a 4-0 first-period lead and producing chances in the opening 40 minutes.
Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra said after the game: “There’s a lot to be learned from that game. Right from the start, we didn’t seem to be as prepared as we needed to be. We knew they were going to have a response, not happy with the result on their home opener night, and I think that was kind of the story of the game. That’s how it got away from us. We lost the majority of puck battles, lost the majority of races. They were just far more hungry than us in a lot of areas.”
Paul Cotter also spoke after the game, saying: “Obviously, [we] went till the buzzer there and gave a good effort. But it’s on us players to make sure that those nine goals don’t happen.”
Vancouver’s next scheduled game, according to the available information, was against the Calgary Flames at 7:00 pm PT on Saturday, with the Canucks continuing to play on home ice earlier in the weekend.
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