The Edmonton Oilers hosted the Vancouver Canucks in their second game of the 2025-26 season and final home game before heading out on their first road trip of the season. Following a frustrating loss to the Calgary Flames on Friday, the team needed to show up for 60 minutes to pull out a win over the Canucks, which included Evander Kane on their roster.
Kane said before the game, “We’ve gotten off to a good start through training camp and a nice win at home the other night. Want to follow it up with a tough opponent in Edmonton.” The Oilers certainly didn’t want that to happen. They didn’t let it.
Calvin Pickard was solid in goal, despite only facing 15 shots, but the Oilers were buzzing for a full three periods, outshooting the Canucks 37-15 to take the 3-1 win.
This felt like the effort level of a team readying for the playoffs. Thatcher Demko was incredible for the Canucks, but the Oilers kept pushing. Pickard said, “We didn’t stray away from the gameplan, we didn’t cheat for offense. We earned that win. We play that game over and over, we’re gonna win pretty much every time.”
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The First Period:
Pickard made a solid save on the first shift to get him into the game. That was all it seemed to take to wake Edmonton up, as the Oilers tilted the ice for the first three minutes after that. A couple of nice down-low passes created some good chances. The Oilers were outshooting the Canucks early, and very few whistles got the two teams to the halfway point of the period quickly.
The first pop from the Rogers Place crowd came when Alec Regula put a puck on net, and it went in off Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The officials ruled it a high stick, questioning if it hit Darnell Nurse on the way to the net. Unfortunately for the Oilers, it did, and the goal was taken off the board.
The top line was buzzing and drew a penalty when Derek Forbort got called for holding. David Tomasek got three good looks on the power play, but the Oilers couldn’t cash in. Edmonton continued to pepper Thatcher Demko with shots, but the Canucks’ goalie looked good and was the early story of the game.
Evander Kane took a two-minute minor for high-sticking. Once again, Tomasek got at least two more looks on this power play, and again, didn’t cash. While it likely felt frustrating not to have been able to finish on his multiple chances, it’s clear the Oilers are feeding him on the man advantage and feel it’s just a matter of when, not if. The question becomes how patient the coaching staff will be as opportunities arise without results. Is it bad luck, or is the finish not there?
Draisaitl was asked about the power play after the game and said they felt like they should scored a few more. When asked about Tomasek, he responded, “He’s just really smart. I think offensively, he knows the reads, he knows where to pop into holes… It’s just a matter of time.”
Kris Knoblauch said after the game that all he can do is tell Tomasek to keep trying, that eventually those looks are going to go in.
With 27 seconds left in the Canucks’ penalty, Trent Frederic took a tripping penalty. A couple of weird plays, one where Mangiapane almost scored on his own net, went without a resulting disaster. The score remained 0-0 at the end of the period. If not for Demko, it could have easily been a two or three-goal lead for the Oilers.
Second Period:
The Canucks opened the second period on the power play, but the Oilers’ penalty kill held strong. Vancouver kept up some pressure afterward, yet Edmonton soon pushed back and tilted the ice the other way for several minutes.
Leon Draisaitl fired up the crowd with a massive hit on Tyler Myers, who later answered back with a hard check on Trent Frederic. The Oilers drew another penalty soon after, as Kiefer Sherwood went off for tripping.
Edmonton couldn’t convert on the ensuing power play, but moments later a slick passing sequence set up Noah Philp, who buried his first NHL goal to make it 1–0. Philp’s linemates, Kasperi Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin, showed some promising early chemistry on the play.
Not long after, Evander Kane pushed Alec Regula dangerously into the boards, drawing the ire of Darnell Nurse. The two tangled but stopped short of dropping the gloves, each receiving two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. Fans voiced their displeasure at the lack of a boarding call.
During the ensuing 4-on-4, the Oilers capitalized on a Canucks turnover — Andrew Mangiapane picked off a pass, walked in alone, and beat Demko low to make it 2–0 Edmonton.
By the end of the second period, the Oilers held a commanding 28–9 edge in shots.
Third Period:
The Canucks generated the first few chances early in the third, and Brock Boeser made one count — spinning at the faceoff circle and firing a shot that found its way past Calvin Pickard. That brought Vancouver within one, but it was as close as they would get.
The Oilers regrouped and established some offensive zone time. Vancouver was whistled for delay of game, giving Edmonton another power play. Although this man advantage wasn’t as crisp as earlier ones, the Oilers still created quality chances late in it — including a prime look for Leon Draisaitl at the doorstep, where Thatcher Demko made a spectacular save.
Moments later, the Oilers were pinned in their own zone but caught a break when the Canucks took a tripping penalty.
Tempers flared when Evander Kane delivered a heavy hit on Alec Regula behind the net, leading to a retaliatory penalty on Noah Philp.
This was a dominant effort from the Oilers, a significant bounce-back game after the disappointing end to their loss to Calgary. Draisaitl said after the game that they played “a good 30” in game one, but this was a much better effort for the full 60. “I thought we were the better team, played really well, had our legs. We’re going to be a hard team to beat when we consistently find a way to play like that.”
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