One of the nice things about having a home-and-home series against the Vancouver Canucks is that round two gave the Oilers a chance to rebound after what was a painful season-opener loss. Edmonton probably played well enough to win, but mistakes and shoddy goaltending were too much to overcome. That made Thursday’s rematch feel a little more important for our injury-depleted heroes. What I did not expect, however, was that the Oilers-lite would light the Canucks up the way they did before almost watching them nearly blow it.

DEVON LEVI’S OILERS DEBUT

After Tristan Jarry did not look good in the season opener, I think it’s fair to say that most of us were hoping that our shiny new goalie would get a chance to show what he can do. Devon Levi had a strong pre-season after coming to down from Buffalo, but as we saw with Jarry, what happens in the pre-season doesn’t mean squat, which made his first start for the Oilers an exciting moment for the franchise and the fanbase. At the same time, there was also some pressure on the kid to perform and avoid an 0-2 start at the hands of a lottery team. But if Levi could step in and give the Oilers a quality start, it wouldn’t be long before some of you animals would start collecting empties to pay for the statue. And while I wouldn’t necessarily try to say that happened, what we can all agree on is that he won the game. Right? Right.

It’s tough to really judge Levi too harshly on a night when he only faced 22 shots. I know he gave up seven goals and that the stats are ugly, but he also stood in his crease waiting for something to happen for most of the game. That can’t be an easy thing to do in your first start with a new team. As much as we like to think these dudes are robots, you’d have to think it’s harder to shake the nerves when shots are coming on a lunar cycle. I know there are going to be people in the comments and reading this who think that’s a soft take, but I agree that the 7 GAA and .682 save percentage aren’t pretty, but I’m giving the kid a pass for a weird result in a weirder start for him. The numbers are by no means pretty, but the most important thing is that Devon Levi closed out the win. If ever you’re going to have a shaky start like that, it’s best to do it when the team gives you that much offence.

VASILY PODKOLZIN MONSTER YEAR LOADING

Is there anything more fun than thinking about Vasily Podkolzin scoring three goals in two games against the team that traded him for a fourth-round pick? No? I didn’t think so either. I think it’s hilarious. Not only did the Canucks give up on him for a half-pack of darts, but he’s gone on to blossom so far in his time in Edmonton. And the better he plays, the more this city loves him. What a gift. How else would you describe a guy on a 250-goal pace who will totally be able to maintain? Exactly. What I’m actually trying to say is that it’s been a real pleasure to watch Podz develop since landing here. He’s gone from eight goals in year one to 19 goals last season, and it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out that this hot start puts him in a pretty good spot to set another career high in 2026-27.

I don’t know about you fine folks, but I start to get bullish when I think of where Podkolzin’s ceiling could be. He just turned 25 in June and still has plenty of room left to grow, and I won’t be at all surprised if he ends up somewhere in the 25-goal range this season. We know this two-game heater will cool off at some point, and there is no limit on my joy of watching him do it against Vancouver, but I don’t think it’s nuts to think he has a monster year loading. All we hear about is how hard he works and how much time he spends at the rink, and I’d love nothing more than to see that kind of guy get rewarded for the effort. Not to mention, that $2.95 million AAV looks better and better with every goal, fight, and forecheck win. I know I’m absolutely biased when I say this, but I love the way Podkolzin plays, and he’s turning into one of the more lopsided trade wins this team has had in forever.

OWEN MICHAELS’ FIRST NHL GOAL

Owen Michaels scores first NHL goal!

🎥 - Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/rO8zY5Iy1R

- Daily Faceoff Edmonton (@dfoedmonton) October 2, 2026

If you’ve been around long enough, you’ll know how much I love watching guys score their first NHL goal. So many of us dreamed as kids of the moment when we would score our first in the NHL, and while the vast majority will never know what that’s like, Owen Michaels was the latest to know what that’s like. At 14:26 of the first period, Mathieu Joseph found Michaels in front of the net with some time and space, and the rookie made no mistake of burying the opportunity. On the stick, off the stick. And when you consider that he just played his first NHL game two nights before, that’s a hell of a week for a kid no one expected to crack the Oilers’ lineup when training camp started. That’s a pretty cool story for a guy whose first professional game happened at the NHL level.

Of course, we have no idea how the story will play out for Michaels once, or if, the team finally starts getting healthy. Only time will tell if he can do what’s needed to stick at this level, but for the last four days, the kid has been living his NHL dream. In his second NHL games, Michaels registered the goal, fired one shot on goal, and played 13:23 in TOI, which is a pretty decent night for someone who many of us hadn’t watched played even a second of hockey before a couple of weeks ago. Maybe this run in Edmonton lasts, maybe it doesn’t, but scoring your first NHL goal in your second game is something nobody can ever take away from him. For now, I’m just enjoying the hell out of watching the kid make the most of an opportunity that basically came out of nowhere.

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