3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 6-5 Shootout Win Over Hurricanes

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 6-5 in a thrilling game that went to a shootout at Rogers Place on Thursday (Oct. 22).

Oilers forwards Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid had two goals and three assists apiece. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton.

The Hurricanes got goals from Sebastian Aho, Jackson Blake, Seth Jarvis, Logan Stankoven, and Jusso Valimaki.

Oilers netminder Devon Levi made 22 saves, while Carolina goalie Brandon Bussi stopped 16 of 21 shots in 65 minutes of regulation and overtime.

Edmonton and Carolina were tied 1-1 after 20 minutes. The Hurricanes took a 4-2 lead into the second intermission.

With the victory, Edmonton improves to 8-1-1 and leapfrogs the Vegas Golden Knights into first place in the Pacific Division standings, with 17 points.

Nugent-Hopkins Makes Impact in Return

After missing the first nine games on Edmonton’s 2026-27 schedule while sidelined with a lower-body injury, Nugent-Hopkins made his regular season debut on Thursday, and it couldn’t have been scripted much better.

Not only did he light the lamp during a power-play in the second period, making the score 2-2 at the time, but the veteran forward was the only player for either team to score during the shootout.

After both teams failed to score on their first two attempts, Nugent-Hopkins skated in on Bussi and fired the puck short side past the blocker of the Hurricanes’ goaltender. Jarvis then shot wide on Carolina’s final attempt, and the horn sounded to signal an Oilers victory.

All around, this was a very impressive performance from Nugent-Hopkins, who looked as good as ever as he began his record 16^th season with the Oilers. He also picked up an assist, totalled four shots on goal, and went 9-for-15 on faceoffs while playing nearly 21 minutes.

Oilers’ Power-Play Continues to Excel

For the second consecutive game, Edmonton went 3-for-5 with the man advantage. This marks the first time that the Oilers have scored at least three power-play goals in back-to-back games since 1998.

Edmonton’s power-play was just average over the first couple weeks of the season. But in the three games since winger Zach Hyman returned from injury and took his spot on the team’s top power-play unit, the Oilers have looked absolutely unstoppable with the man advantage, going 7-for-11.

The Oilers were particularly lethal with the man advantage on Thursday: They needed just three seconds before Draisaitl scored on their first power-play, while Edmonton’s third power-play goal, also scored by Draisaitl, came after playing just 10 seconds of 5-on-4.  

All three of Edmonton’s goals on the man-advantage came at critical points of the game, too: the Oilers’ first power-play goal gave them a 1-0 lead, while the last two tied the game at 2-2 and 4-4, respectively.

Both against the Hurricanes on Thursday and in their 4-3 overtime victory against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (Oct. 20), there has been a sense of inevitably throughout Rogers Place every time the home team has gone on the power-play. It’s just felt like the Oilers were going to score, and much more often than not, that’s exactly what they did.

This NHL season isn’t even a month old, and it’s already become pretty clear that if you’re going to beat the Oilers, you can’t give them power-play opportunities.

Top-Heavy Scoring Isn’t Sustainable

Edmonton’s big guns have started the season on a torrid pace. McDavid now has eight goals and 23 assists, Draisaitl has 10 goals and 11 assists, and Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard has seven goals and 12 assists.

To truly appreciate these stats requires historical context: McDavid is only the fourth player in NHL history to record more than 30 points over his team’s first 10 games; Bouchard has the second most points by a defenceman in NHL history over his first team’s first 10 games; and the Oilers are the first team in 31 years to have three players record at least 19 points over its first 10 games.

And yet, while marveling over these remarkable numbers, one also must ask: is this type of production sustainable?

Edmonton currently has the highest point percentage (.850) and is averaging the most goals per game (4.70) in the NHL through the first three and a half weeks of the 2026-27 season. But the overwhelming majority of Edmonton’s offensive output is centered around a few players.

Bouchard, Draisaitl, McDavid, and forward Vasily Podkolzin (who has scored 7 times) account for more than two-thirds of Edmonton’s scoring. Beyond those four players, no one else on the team has more than four points.

As great as Edmonton’s stars are, there will come occasions when they hit a bit of slump. Then who will step up for the Oilers? The sensational output from Bouchard, Draisaitl and McDavid is covering up a serious lack of depth production that can’t be overlooked. And knowing Oilers coach Mike Babcock, he is keenly aware of this fact.

The next opportunity for some other Oilers to get in the scoring summary comes Saturday (Oct. 24), when Edmonton hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs at 5 p.m. MDT.