VancouverMETRO VANCOUVER NEWS
Connor McDavid leads Edmonton to a 9-7 win over Vancouver with a goal and four assists
McDavid scored his first goal of the season and added four assists as the Oilers outlasted the Canucks in a second high-scoring meeting between the teams this week.
Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the season and recorded four assists as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-7 on Thursday. Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists for Edmonton (1-0-1), becoming the first defenceman in NHL history to record eight points — four goals and four assists — through his team’s first two games of a season. Leon Draisaitl scored twice and added an assist, while Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen each had a goal and an assist. Owen Michaels scored his first NHL goal, and Ryan Shea 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. He stopped 15 of 22 shots. For Vancouver (1-1-0), Marco Rossi scored twice and had an assist, while Elias Pettersson had a goal and two assists. Paul Cotter, Brock Boeser, Arshdeep Bains and Jamie Oleksiak each recorded a goal and an assist. Kevin Lankinen made 12 saves on 20 shots before being pulled midway through the second period. Leevi Merilainen stopped 10 of 11 shots in relief. The Canucks claimed him off waivers on Friday, and he was still wearing a Senators helmet.
It was the second high-scoring game between the teams this week, after Vancouver won 6-5 in overtime in both clubs’ season opener on Tuesday. The Canucks struggled to generate offence through the first two periods Thursday. Their first shot on goal came at 11:58 of the opening period, when Linus Karlsson sent a wrist shot toward the net from the bottom of the faceoff circle. Vancouver surged in the third, with Rossi scoring twice and Pettersson once in a span of five minutes and 44 seconds.
The Oilers were without top-six forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman but scored freely early. Michaels and Bouchard scored 16 seconds apart in the first period. Edmonton extended its lead to 8-2 midway through the second on short-handed breakaway goals by McDavid and Kapanen, scored 34 seconds apart. Vancouver had more hits (27) than shots on goal (20).
The Canucks host the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The Oilers host the Seattle Kraken the same day. The Canadian Press first published this report on Oct. 1, 2026.