James Hamblin of the Edmonton Oilers battles for the puck against Nate Smith of the Vancouver Canucks in the second period of a pre-season game at Rogers Place. The Oilers won 3-2 on Sept. 30, 2024, in Edmonton.Leila Devlin/Getty Images
It may have been a victory, but the Edmonton Oilers feel they are still very much a work in progress.
Leon Draisaitl scored the shootout winner on a slapshot as the Oilers won their second straight pre-season game, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Monday.
Corey Perry and Ben Gleason also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 3-3 in NHL exhibition action.
“We just wanted to get our battle level up a little bit,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who registered a pair of assists on the night. “I think everybody has another level that they can get to. Hopefully we will get there this week.
“We haven’t played much with our group. To get some rhythm and some camaraderie, all that stuff is important.”
A lot of the focus was on getting the first look of the new potentially powerhouse second line of Draisaitl, Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.
“They are just getting used to each other right now,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “They had some good chances, probably not as many as you would expect in a game like tonight. But it was a good first step.”
Arshdeep Bains and Nate Smith replied for the Canucks (2-2-1), who have lost three in a row.
“It’s not about the win or loss, the group really did a great job,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, whose team dressed the less experienced lineup. “I’m really proud of the way they played. I just like the way that they stuck with it. That is a good hockey club over there, and I think we did a nice job.”
There was no scoring in a rather relaxed first period, with Edmonton putting eight shots on Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen and Vancouver responding with seven on Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner.
Vancouver broke the deadlock six minutes into the second period on the power play as Kiefer Sherwood made a nice pass from the side of the net out to Bains, who unleashed a bullet before Skinner could get across.
Edmonton almost responded a few minutes later as Perry was sent in alone, but he was unable to deke his way past Lankinen.
The Canucks led 16-15 on the shot clock through 40 minutes.
The Oilers tied the game four minutes into the third period as Perry swept out in front of the net and made a nice move and got the puck behind Lankinen this time.
Edmonton surged ahead on the power play midway through the third as McDavid sent it back to Gleason who sent a hard wrist shot into the net with Arvidsson providing a screen in front.
However, Vancouver answered back just 19 seconds later as Smith deftly redirected a Kirill Kudryavtsev shot through Skinner’s legs, eventually sending the game to extra time.
Vancouver had a wide-open net to shoot for late in overtime, but Draisaitl lifted Daniel Sprong’s stick at the last second.
Notes
It was the first meeting between the two teams since the Oilers defeated the Canucks 3-2 in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series in May ... Edmonton released veteran forward Mike Hoffman from a PTO on Monday, and the Canucks did likewise with PTO invite Sammy Blais ... The Oilers are down to 36 players (five injured) in camp and are hoping to trim to 27 players before the team’s final two pre-season games ... Defenceman Darnell Nurse is expected to be back for one of the two final tilts, and backup goalie Calvin Pickard is expected to return to the ice in a few days after taking a hit to the head on Saturday against Seattle ... Vancouver star forward J.T. Miller has skated all camp, but has yet to suit up for a game, while defenceman Quinn Hughes has played just one.
Up next
Canucks: Host the Oilers on Friday.
Oilers: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.