The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-7 in Vancouver on Thursday, two days after Vancouver won 6-5 in overtime in Edmonton, as both teams took lessons from a pair of high-scoring games to open the NHL season. Oilers captain Connor McDavid said his team was not celebrating the win, despite earning three of a possible four points in the home-and-home series. The games entertained fans but left players and coaches with defensive problems to address.

“No one is in here (saying), you know, ‘Way to go!’” McDavid said Thursday. “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, now 1-0-1, took a 4-0 lead in the first period and extended it to 8-2 midway through the second. Vancouver then scored four consecutive goals to narrow the gap to two. Arshdeep Bains helped start the Canucks’ rally with a diving rebound goal behind Edmonton goalie Devon Levi with 0.1 seconds remaining in the middle frame. The goal made it 8-3 heading into the third period.

McDavid led Edmonton’s attack with a goal and four assists. Leon Draisaitl scored twice and added an assist, while Evan Bouchard had three points, including one goal and two assists. The scoring came in a series marked by defensive struggles as well as strong production from star players.

Oilers head coach Mike Babcock said his team allowed fewer odd-man rushes in Thursday’s rematch. He said the puck still found its way into Edmonton’s net and the game showed the Oilers where they need to improve. “We didn’t give a ton of chance, but the puck ended up in our net,” he 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.”

Babcock said Edmonton played well in the opening period and for half of the second before its performance fell off. “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.” He said the team had shown it could play the right way, but needed to repeat that effort: “We know we can be way better. What I saw tonight was a group that could play right and knew what they were doing, and then I saw a group that didn’t do it. If you know you can do it, now you’ve got to find a way to just repeat. (Lather), rinse, repeat, do it again.”

The teams enter the season with different aims. Edmonton is seeking a return to the Stanley Cup final for the third time in four years. Vancouver, now 1-1-0, is rebuilding under a new front office and head coach, with an emphasis on establishing a foundation for the future.

Canucks centre Paul Cotter said teams need to simplify their approach when opponents build momentum. He said Edmonton’s early goals highlighted the Oilers’ elite skill, but Vancouver needed to respond more forcefully. “But we should be putting them through the glass into next week every single chance we get,” Cotter said. “This should be a building where guys hate to come play. Whether they win or lose, they should be like, ‘Ah man, like I hate playing in that arena.’ And we didn’t do that tonight.”

Vancouver winger Brock Boeser said the Canucks were outworked early and were not ready for Edmonton’s puck battles. “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,” he 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 his players need to find ways to shift momentum when an opponent scores in bunches. “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,” he said. “There’s a number of things that would come out of that. But that’s part of the growing process for us.”

The report was written by Gemma Karstens-Smith of The Canadian Press and first published Oct. 2, 2026. The Canadian Press report carried by Global News also noted that it was first published on that date.

Based on reporting by CTV News Edmonton and Global News Edmonton.