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Instant Reaction: Canucks give the Oilers a scare, lose 9-7 after erasing five-goal deficit

Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

By David Quadrelli

Oct 2, 2026, 00:53 EDTUpdated: Oct 2, 2026, 01:13 EDT

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Welcome back to Instant Reaction, the series here at CanucksArmy where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Vancouver Canucks game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below!

Lineup

DeBrusk-Pettersson-Lekkerimäki
Öhgren-Rossi-Boeser
O’Connor-Sasson-Karlsson
Bains-Cotter-Gallagher

Buium-Hronek
Oleksiak-Willander
EP25-Schenn

First Period

The Canucks took an early penalty, as Brendan Gallagher was called for tripping. And after being trusted to PK and play a big role in shutting down Connor McDavid in the first game of the season, Max Sasson was once again the first forward over the boards to help PK. The Canucks managed to kill this one off, but would not be so fortunate later.

Kevin Lankinen was sharp early in this game, just as he was on Tuesday night. And he sure needed to be. This was arguably his best of the opening period:

Kevin Lankinen's gonna need to find another ten glove saves like this one tonight. At *least*. #Canucks

— Lachlan Irvine (@lachinthecrease.com) 2026-10-02T02:48:36.126Z

The Oilers looked hell-bent on leaving no room for the Canucks to even get their feet under them tonight. Their forecheck was relentless, and the pressure was unlike anything we saw from the Oilers on Tuesday night. There was no sitting back, no cheating. It was all gas, no brakes for Edmonton.

Just under ten minutes into the first, Jamie Oleksiak took an interference penalty, sending the Oilers to their second power play of the game. This time, ex-Canuck Vasily Podkolzin scored for the third time this season. All three of Podkolzin’s goals, of course, have come against his former team.

1-0 Oilers.

The Canucks nearly answered right back when ~~Rocket Richard~~ Paul Cotter wheeled into the Oilers’ end before finding Elias Junior Pettersson for a one-time chance that Devon Levi got enough of to keep it out. This was the Canucks’ first shot of the game, and the only reason we mention it is because it was the closest the Canucks got to scoring in the entire period, in which they recorded just two shots.

Instead, the Oilers added three more goals, including Tom Willander having an Evan Bouchard shot go off him and past Kevin Lankinen. Lankinen didn’t have much chance on any of them. If you want to watch any of them, you can do so by clicking here.

4-0 after 20 minutes.

Some takeaways from the first:
-Game one was a tough one for Tom Willander, and that continued in the first period of this one, with the cherry on top being the own goal.
-That was a tough opening 20 for the home side.

Second Period

The Oilers were quickly looking like they could score at will, as they opened the period with an individual effort from Leon Draisaitl capped off with him banking the puck off of Kevin Lankinen’s head:

Edmonton goal!Scored by Leon Draisaitl with 19:33 remaining in the 2nd period.Assisted by Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid.Vancouver: 0Edmonton: 5#EDMvsVAN #Canucks #LetsGoOilers

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-02T03:20:58.011106Z

5-0.

Not too long after, Liam Öhgren did well to strip the puck after a Paul Cotter-like effort on the forecheck, and managed to set up Cotter for his third goal in his second game:

Vancouver goal!Scored by Paul Cotter with 15:29 remaining in the 2nd period.Assisted by Liam Ohgren.Vancouver: 1Edmonton: 5#EDMvsVAN #Canucks #LetsGoOilers

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-02T03:26:57.245353Z

5-1.

Right after the Cotter goal, which was tons of fun, Trent Frederic scored to push the Oilers back to five goals. 6-1.

But forget about that. Manny Malhotra tweaked his lines, and we saw Paul Cotter move up to play with Brock Boeser and Liam Öhgren. Cotter made a nifty pass to Brock Boeser, who walked in and sniped one far side on Devon Levi:

Vancouver goal!Scored by Brock Boeser with 14:13 remaining in the 2nd period.Assisted by Paul Cotter and Jamie Oleksiak.Vancouver: 2Edmonton: 6#EDMvsVAN #Canucks #LetsGoOilers

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-02T03:31:35.706898Z

6-2.

It was one of those nights that I’m writing Instant Reaction and am struggling to keep up with all the goals. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ve missed any. Probably.

And while I wrote that sentence, the Canucks got a power play! And then the Oilers scored two shorthanded goals. This one that came as a result of a careless drop pass from Brock Boeser was especially brutal:

Short-handed goal for Edmonton!Scored by Connor McDavid with 12:11 remaining in the 2nd period.Vancouver: 2Edmonton: 7#EDMvsVAN #Canucks #LetsGoOilers

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-02T03:42:23.020396Z

Then Kasperi Kapanen scored on a breakaway:

Short-handed goal for Edmonton!Scored by Kasperi Kapanen with 11:37 remaining in the 2nd period.Vancouver: 2Edmonton: 8#EDMvsVAN #Canucks #LetsGoOilers

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-02T03:43:12.731182Z

This was quickly turning into a bloodbath, and the Canucks gave Kevin Lankinen the mercy hook after the eighth Oilers goal. That meant it was our first chance to watch Leevi Meriläinen play since the Canucks claimed him off waivers from the Ottawa Senators.

Jake Walman was having a shaky night, and after a turnover in his own end, he tripped Max Sasson. This gave the Canucks another power play, which was obviously a terrifying proposition for Canucks fans at this point. Thankfully, there were no goals scored over the next two minutes.

After a strong forecheck from Elias Pettersson in the dying moments of the second, Arshdeep Bains pounced on Pettersson’s rebound and scored the Canucks’ third goal on their ninth shot of the night. Canucks down by five, got the Oilers right where they want them. Please note I wrote this line as a joke before watching the third period.

Some takeaways from the second:
-I think the Canucks should try just one more drop pass on the power play.
-My wish for the third period is a Luke Schenn fight. That, or for the Canucks to make Oilers fans more panicky about their goaltending. (Again, I wrote this line before the third period started).

Third Period

The Canucks wouldn’t go away or give up, which is exactly what they’ll need to do if they want people to stay on board for this rebuild and be proud to support them through it. The home team came out much stronger to open the third than they had at any other point of the night.

The Canucks kept the pressure up on the Oilers, and after Marco Rossi was stapled into the boards from behind, he got right back up and battled for position in front of the net. A Jonathan Lekkerimäki point shot deflected off Rossi in front of the net, and although it was initially waved off, Rossi was rightfully credited with the goal upon further review.

Vancouver goal!Scored by Marco Rossi with 18:07 remaining in the 3rd period.Assisted by Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Tom Willander.Vancouver: 4Edmonton: 8#EDMvsVAN #Canucks #LetsGoOilers

— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-10-02T04:21:37.221414Z

8-5. A hearty “Go Canucks Go” chant. Canucks didn’t hear no bell.

The Canucks got another power play chance, and this time, they were the ones who did the scoring! And my oh my, dare we say that this was vintage Elias Pettersson? Pettersson didn’t hesitate to blast home a one-timer, scoring his second goal in as many games.

THERE'S BLOOD ON HIS CHIN, HE'S RIPPING CLAPPERS, THAT'S VINTAGE PETEY

— Lachlan Irvine (@lachinthecrease.com) 2026-10-02T04:29:31.894Z

8-6.

Mike Babcock looked quite upset on the Edmonton bench after this one.

Rossi took an interference penalty after the goal, and that opened the door for the Oilers to push their lead back up to three. Leon Draisaitl caught Leevi Meriläinen by surprise and beat the young Canucks netminder five-hole.

9-6.

No lead was safe tonight for the Oilers, and with 1:29 remaining, Jamie Oleksiak stepped up and walked into a loose puck, wiring it over Levi’s shoulder for his first as a Canuck.

9-7.

That would stand as your final. What a game.

Some takeaways from the third:
-It’s early, but this team is fun again. Young players are doing things. They’re not giving up no matter the scoreline. Keep that up, please. I’m contractually obliged to watch all of these games.
-A comeback shouldn’t have been possible tonight, and the fact it was sure made this game fun to watch.
-Three point night for EP40, and the PP blast. Nice.
-Three points for Rossi, two for Cotter, Boeser, and Bains as well.
-Paul Cotter is quickly going to become a fan favourite if he keeps these efforts up.
-Remember when it was 5-0? I hope you didn’t stop watching. If this was last year’s team, you’d probably have been okay to do so. But not this year’s team. Not yet, at least.

What’s your instant reaction to tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments section below!

Be sure to tune into Rink Wide Vancouver after the game!