Oilers edge Canucks in 16-goal shootout after McDavid’s five-point night

Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the season and added four assists as Edmonton beat Vancouver 9-7 on Thursday. Evan Bouchard made NHL history with eight points through the Oilers’ first two games.

Connor McDavid scored once and set up four goals as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-7 in Vancouver on Thursday, in the teams’ second high-scoring game this week. Edmonton improved to 1-0-1, while Vancouver fell to 1-1-0 after opening the season with a 6-5 overtime win over the Oilers on Tuesday.

Evan Bouchard recorded a goal and two assists, giving him eight points through Edmonton’s first two games: four goals and four assists. He became the first defenceman in NHL history to reach that total over a team’s first two games of a season. The Oilers were without top-six forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, but scored early, with Owen Michaels and Bouchard finding the net 16 seconds apart in the first period.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice and added an assist. Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen each had a goal and an assist, while Michaels scored his first NHL goal and Ryan Shea netted his first goal in an Oilers uniform.

The pivotal stretch came midway through the second period, when Edmonton took an 8-2 lead on a Canucks power play. McDavid and Kapanen each scored on a short-handed breakaway, 34 seconds apart. Vancouver had more hits than shots on goal, recording 27 hits and 20 shots.

The Canucks struggled to generate offence early. Their first shot on goal came at 11:58 of the first period, when Linus Karlsson sent a wrist shot toward the net from the bottom of the faceoff circle. Vancouver rallied in the third, scoring three times in five minutes and 44 seconds: Marco Rossi had two goals, and Elias Pettersson added one.

Rossi finished with two goals and an assist. Pettersson had a goal and two assists, while Paul Cotter, Brock Boeser, Arshdeep Bains and Jamie Oleksiak each recorded a goal and an assist.

Devon Levi made his first NHL start since Jan. 20, 2025, when he was with the Buffalo Sabres. He stopped 15 of the 22 shots he faced. Kevin Lankinen made 12 saves on 20 shots for Vancouver before being pulled midway through the second period. Leevi Merilainen, claimed off waivers by the Canucks on Friday, stopped 10 of 11 shots in relief while still wearing a Senators helmet.

The Canucks host the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Edmonton hosts the Seattle Kraken that day. The Canadian Press first published this report on Oct. 1, 2026.

Based on reporting by Global News Edmonton.