The high-scoring affairs between the two sides provided hockey fans ample entertainment, while players and coaches got ample lessons for the long NHL season ahead.
asserted
players → score → season
“No one is in here (saying), you know, ‘Way to go!'” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said Thursday after his team outlasted the Canucks for a 9-7 win in Vancouver.
asserted
team → say → Vancouver
“Obviously we understand the game has got to look a little bit different.
asserted
game → understand → ?
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.”
uncertain
it → think → time
The result came after the Canucks took a 6-5 overtime victory in Edmonton on Tuesday.
asserted
Canucks → come → Tuesday
Oilers head coach Mike Babcock said he liked the way his group gave up fewer odd-man rushes in the rematch.
asserted
group → say → rematch
“We didn’t give a ton of chance, but the puck ended up in our net,” he said.
asserted
he → give → net
“So, I’m happy for the guys, happy for myself.
asserted
I → ’m → 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.
asserted
we → get → examples
“I really liked our game in the first (period).
asserted
I → like → period
I liked it for half the second, and then I didn’t like it at all.
asserted
I → like → it
So we’ve got to learn to play a whole 60, not just 30.”
asserted
we → get → 60
The Oilers (1-0-1) and Canucks (1-1-0) head into the new NHL season in much different positions.
asserted
Oilers → head → positions
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Edmonton aspires to get back to the Stanley Cup final for the third time in four years.
asserted
Edmonton → get → years
Vancouver is in rebuild mode, with a new front office and head coach, and a focus on building a foundation for the future.
asserted
Vancouver → build → future
Yet the two teams shared similarities over the home-and-home series that opened the campaign, from defensive struggles to multi-point performances from star players.
asserted
that → share → players
“We know we can be way better,” Babcock said.
asserted
Babcock → know → ?
“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.
uncertain
that → see → it
“If you know you can do it, now you’ve got to find a way to just repeat.
asserted
you → know → way
Edmonton jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first period Thursday and boosted their advantage to 8-2 midway through the second before the Canucks scored four straight goals and cut their deficit to two.
asserted
Canucks → jump → two
The Oilers’ stars powered the offensive onslaught, with McDavid recording a goal and four assists.
asserted
McDavid → power → goal
Leon Draisaitl added two goals and a helper, while Evan Bouchard put up three points (one goal, two assists).
asserted
Bouchard → add → points
When a game gets tough, teams need to simplify, Canucks centre Paul Cotter said.
asserted
Cotter → get → ?
“When they pot a couple early, it’s like, ‘Alright, well, you know they have a lot of guys who are there with elite skill,'” he said.
asserted
he → pot → skill
“But we should be putting them through the glass into next week every single chance we get.
asserted
we → put → week
“This should be a building where guys hate to come play.
asserted
guys → hate → ?
Whether they win or lose, they should be like, ‘Ah man, like I hate playing in that arena.’
asserted
I → win → arena
And we didn’t do that tonight.”
asserted
we → do → that
Arshdeep Bains sparked Vancouver’s offensive outburst with a literal last-second goal in the middle frame, diving to swat a rebound in behind Edmonton goalie Devon Levi with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.
asserted
Bains → spark → clock
The tally cut the Canucks’ deficit to 8-3 heading into the third period.
asserted
tally → cut → period
“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,” said Vancouver winger Brock Boeser.
asserted
Boeser → come → that
“But I’m happy with the way we fought back.
asserted
we → ’m → way
And there’s no quit in this room, and we just can’t let it get to that point.
asserted
it → ’ → point
”
There are things players can do when an opponent pours on the offence, said Vancouver head coach Manny Malhotra.
asserted
Malhotra → be → offence
“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.
asserted
he → have → rink
“There’s a number of things that would come out of that.
asserted
that → ’ → that
But that’s part of the growing process for us.”
asserted
that → ’ → us
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2026.
asserted
report → publish → Press
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