Saturday’s game proved that the Edmonton Oilers are capable of playing low-scoring games.

The Oilers would go on to defeat the Seattle Kraken 3-1, moving their season record to 2-0-1, in a game that saw Edmonton outshoot them 25-20. With the win, Edmonton is now 9-1-0 at Rogers Place against Seattle since the team’s first season back in 2021-22. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.

About three minutes into the game, the Oilers opened the scoring. The Kraken failed to clear the zone, Alex Formenton got the puck down to Owen Michaels, who sniped it from a tough angle for his second goal in as many games.

For the second game in a row, the rookie strikes‼️ #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/9qSAEDOfDR

- Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 3, 2026

That was all the scoring for the first period, but the Kraken managed to tie the game midway through the second period, as Wainwright, Alberta product Bobby McMann beat Devon Levi to even up the game at one. Getting an assist on the goal was former Oiler Jordan Eberle.

blink and ya might miss it 👀 pic.twitter.com/KY1LWxwoIt

- Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 4, 2026

Overtime looked likely, but with just under two and a half minutes left in the game, Leon Draisaitl managed to beat his fellow countryman Philipp Grubauer to put the Oilers on top. Then 36 seconds later, Connor McDavid iced the game with an empty-netter for a 3-1 victory.

Leo plays the hero 👊 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/ZaIhjCVZi2

- Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 4, 2026

Takeaways…

This was a pretty feisty game. Back in May, Ryan Lindgren caught Evan Bouchard up high with a hit, ending his 2026 IIHF World Championship Tournament. It took a little while for the Oilers to answer that hit, but the two players dropped the mitts midway through the first, with Trent Frederic winning it decisively.

It was a first period that had a lot of chippiness and penalties. Three minutes after the fight, Colton Dach hit Vince Dunn hard, and both players received a coincidental minor. Then late in the first, Max Jones got into it with Philipp Grubauer after the Kraken’s netminder froze the puck, with both players getting two. After a quiet second and third,  Brandon Montour hit Connor McDavid as he buried the empty netter, which turned into 10-minute misconducts for Montour and Connor Murphy.

Had the Oilers lost this game, they could look back to their inability to score on a handful of chances on the man-advantage in the first period. They went 0-for-3 on their three first-period power plays and didn’t get another opportunity the rest of the game. They also allowed a goal on the penalty kill.

A big reason why they won this game was because of Devon Levi. It was a much better game for the Oilers’ netminder, as he stopped 19 of 20 shots for a .950 save percentage, including a robbery of Jordan Eberle in the third period. He should get the bulk of the starts until Frederik Andersen is back.

It was a quiet game for the Oilers offence. Evan Bouchard was held pointless, with Ryan Shea earning the only point on the Oilers’ back end. Draisaitl and McDavid scored in the final two and a half minutes of the game, while Owen Michaels picked up his second goal in as many games. What a start to his NHL career.

Vasily Podkolzin has had a great start to his season, as his assist on the Oilers’ empty-net goal was his second in three games, giving him five points and a +3 since the start of the year.

It’ll be a while before the Oilers are back in action, as their next game is a first-round rematch against the Anaheim Ducks in California on Wednesday.

Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFOEdmonton, DFOCalgary, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on X at @CynthiaRDelaney.

PRESENTED BY STAKE