4 Takeaways From Canucks’ Thrilling 6-5 Overtime Win Over the Oilers

Hockey is back, and the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers provided plenty of fireworks and excitement in an opening night for the record books. After the Carolina Hurricanes opened their title defence and the 2026-27 season with a low-event 1-0 overtime loss against the Florida Panthers, the Canucks and Oilers finished the night the exact opposite: a barnburner 6-5 back-and-forth affair filled with everything you could think of.

By the time the horn sounded in the late hours of Sept. 29 – a day usually reserved for preseason hockey, not the regular season – history had been made on both sides. First, it was Paul Cotter scoring the first shorthanded goal of his career, becoming the first player in Canucks history to do so in his debut. Then, sandwiched between that and his OT winner, which also got into Canucks and NHL lore, Evan Bouchard notched a hat trick and five points, becoming the first defenceman in Oilers history to do it in a season opener.

Talk about a night. As you might guess, there’s a lot to talk about, so let’s dive into a few takeaways from arguably one of the most exciting season openers in recent memory.

Cotter Becomes a Fan Favourite in Game 1

It didn’t take long for one of the Canucks newcomers to make an impact. Cotter was probably already bordering on a fan favourite after declaring that his new team would surprise people this season. Now he’s firmly in that category after his two-goal performance on Tuesday night. He embodied everything the Canucks want to be in this new era: hard to play against and showing a never-say-die attitude.

If you want to see it firsthand, watch his OT winner again. The DAWG rating, coined by Canucks insider Chris Faber, was off the charts on this one.

Cotter battled, battled, and battled some more, knocking Ryan Shea down and freeing up the puck for his linemate Max Sasson. He then showcased his hands, as Sasson returned it to him so that he could finish the game with a sweet deke to the backhand. Talk about a package of hard work, heart and never-give-up energy. I think Manny Malhotra and his staff will be pulling up this 14-second video whenever someone needs a lesson on hard work and grit; it was that good.

Malhotra Already Has His Matchup Centre/Line

It was only Game 1 of 84, so this might be too early to say, but if the first 60-and-change of Malhotra’s tenure as head coach is any indication, Sasson is the Canucks’ new matchup centre. Put back into that position by his old Abbotsford bench boss, he was matched up against Connor McDavid all night long, and despite his two points, he was mostly held in check. Sasson is probably the only Canuck that can keep up with him, and he did a pretty good job of limiting his chances offensively.

If Sasson’s faceoff numbers improve – losing it cleanly led directly to Bouchard’s hat trick goal – he might hold that position all season over Aatu Raty, who isn’t as fleet-of-foot, but dominates in that department.

Sasson was joined by Drew O’Connor and Linus Karlsson, and they had the tough job of making McDavid’s life miserable. McDavid finished with a multi-point game, but he didn’t seem as dangerous as he usually is. In fact, the trio held him to zero shots in 22:51 of ice time, a rare and sometimes impossible feat, considering what he’s done so far in his NHL career.

Malhotra’s System Still a Work in Progress, But Showed Promise

The Canucks want to be better defensively this season. Looking strictly at the scoreboard after this one, it’s still a massive work in progress. However, if you watched the game, there were some bright spots. While they were largely outplayed in the first period and squandered a three-goal lead in the third, there weren’t any odd-man rushes and stretches where the Oilers dominated possession. Before the offensive onslaught, they were moving the puck cleanly out of their own zone and generally looked in control most of the time.

Having said that, there were still familiar mistakes like turnovers that led to quick transitions the other way and failing to get the puck out. But those could be classified as individual issues, not system-related. As for the offensive side of things, the Canucks actually showed promise. While they only really had one time where they hemmed the Oilers in their own zone, they were very good in transition and opportunistic whenever they got a chance on Tristan Jarry. Cotter, Marco Rossi and Jonathan Lekkerimaki’s goals were all scored off the rush, and more importantly for the fans, were exciting showcases of skill.

Giving up five goals is not something you want to make a habit of, but the foundation was there for a solid system once the kinks are worked out.

Lankinen Showed Flashes of 2024-25 Form, Despite 5 Goals Against

The only reason the Canucks had the chance to open the scoring and ultimately finish with two points was the work of their starter, Kevin Lankinen, especially in the first period. They were outshot 13-5, and if not for some ten-bell saves, including one on the usually lethal Leon Draisaitl one-timer on the power play, they would have been down multiple goals early on. That save actually led to Cotter’s opening goal, as he punched the rebound out to him to create the 2-on-1.

Lankinen did allow five goals in the end, and his stats won’t reflect his work, but he did his job to keep the Canucks in the game. And that’s all you can ask for from your goaltender. The point is, he showed flashes of what he was back in 2024-25, and that’s good news for a guy who will have to shoulder the load for a while until Thatcher Demko gets back.

Right Back at It on Thursday

Let’s do it again, shall we? The Canucks and Oilers are back at it on Thursday, this time in Vancouver for the Canucks’ home opener. We probably won’t get the same 11-goal game, but it should still be exciting as Game 2 of 84 gets going at 7 pm PT.