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The Stanchies: Canucks make it entertaining in 9-7 loss to Oilers
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Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Stanchion
Oct 2, 2026, 03:57 EDTUpdated: Oct 2, 2026, 04:38 EDT
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Despite losing 9-7 in the home opener Thursday night, it felt like Vancouver emerged from this game in a far happier place than the Edmonton Oilers.
Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t a single NHL coach on this planet who is going to enjoy their team giving up 14 goals over the first two games of a season; but at one point during this contest, Mike Babcock’s hockey club held an 8-2 lead with time winding down in the second period. The game was over; it was done. Connor McDavid and friends had metaphorically sat up in their chairs to take this game seriously after losing on Tuesday, and they wanted to make a loud statement that Vancouver doesn’t belong in the same sentence as them.
Which is true, of course. We are under no illusions in Vancouver about what kind of season lies ahead of us. Edmonton is on a different journey this year; that’s an objective fact. The Stanley Cup is their prime goal, one that certainly seems achievable, which means they don’t have time to worry about what us poors do down in Vancouver.
But then something strange happened. The Canucks didn’t go away. They didn’t just ride out the game to get ready for the next one. They didn’t spiral into a Quinn Hughes-esque soulless depression on the bench, wondering when the next flight to New York was.
What happened instead was, as someone in my Discord asked so adroitly, “How did they turn being down 8-2 into a moral victory?”
Now look, the term “moral victory” is the backhanded compliment of the sporting world. You know it, and I know it. It’s the negging way of telling a sports team you’re surprised they’re able to pull that outfit off.
If you were in a bar last year, you’d find yourself telling the Canucks “Hey, at least you didn’t get shutout!” while you checked your phone to see what the Buffalo Sabres were up to.
When moral victories are brought into the fold, it’s usually just a way of saying that things could be worse. At least you have that piece of wood to hold onto while the Titanic sinks into the ocean beside you. It doesn’t so much comfort you as distract you from the fact that Rose keeps shoving you off of it.
Once in a blue moon, though, moral victories actually feel tangible. And on Thursday night, the fact that the Canucks punched back at the Oilers so hard that they a) kept running McDavid out on every power play, even late in the game, and b) took a timeout with 10 seconds left in the game, was cause for celebration.
Edmonton is supposed to beat Vancouver. Edmonton is not supposed to give up seven goals to Vancouver and have to scramble to hold onto a win after going up 8-2. Despite getting three out of four possible points, you can’t help but watch Edmonton and wonder if they’re in trouble.
So even though Edmonton won the game, something tells me Mike Babcock was the one yelling the loudest in the locker room. For a team with Stanley Cup aspirations this season, the goaltending they’ve gotten through two games certainly makes you wonder if they’re speed-dialling Winnipeg tomorrow.
As for Vancouver, they were playing with house money after they made it a two-goal game in the third. They look very much like a team that will be lucky to be out of the basement of the standings by the end of the season, but they also look like a team that won’t quit.
Which, as we have said all along, is all the fanbase wants right now. There are diminishing returns on moral victories, but with the way hockey has gone in this city over the past decade, I can honestly say that the fans will be happy if this team shows up every night, despite whatever losses pile up.
You have two scenarios; which would you rather have?
One, the team never stops fighting. They keep engaging physically the entire night. Luke Schenn never stops shoving people away from his goalie even when it’s 8-2. Arshdeep Bains continues to charge the net and gets a goal late in the second period. Brock and EP40 start flashing their shots. Marco Rossi shows he has some piss and vinegar in him and might be sneaky good at passing. Paul Cotter continues to be Paul Effing Cotter. Max Sasson might have bought into his own hype a bit about shutting down McDavid, but f*** it, we ball. Jamie Oleksiak randomly decides today is the day to uncork a piss missile for a goal. Thatcher Demko is hurt, but he is coming back soon. You think.
Or two, JT Miller is screaming at your backup goalie about getting off the ice quicker. You can’t tell who’s more checked out, Quinn Hughes or your cat. You’ve listened to Adam Foote’s postgame press conference 17 times, and you still have no idea what he’s talking about. You’ve started reading up on “bullying in the workplace” to try and figure out what’s going on with Elias Pettersson. You still have no idea why Evander Kane is on the team. You’ve given yourself the “support the art, not the artist” conversation about Conor Garland more times than you can count. Thatcher Demko is hurt, but he is coming back soon. You think.
One of these is about the game; about a team. The other one is a Martin Scorsese film where the hockey takes a firm backseat to everything else.
All of which is to say that there is something to be said about the Good Vibes Only Era. It’s nice that the spotlight is on the ice, where it belongs.
And you know what, that was a hell of an effort from a team that had every reason to shut down and skate out the game when they were down six.
Besides, you take away those nine Oilers goals, and that’s a fantastic game from Vancouver.
Best on brand
You knew the second the calendar turned to October that Brock Boeser was going to score a goal. It’s the pumpkin spice latte of our time: when Brock Boeser scores, that’s when you know it’s officially fall.
The fact that Vancouver Starbucks doesn’t sell a Blonde Boeser Vanilla Latte on the menu at the end of September feels like a lost opportunity.
Best calm before the storm
At one point in the night, this was a serious hockey game. The kind of hockey game you’d have no problem introducing to your parents while politely praising the charcuterie board your mom laid out. As I always say, who doesn’t love starting the night off with a gherkin or two?
Somewhere along the way, though, this game excused itself to use the facilities. When they came back, they had a suspicious amount of white powder under their nose and a frantic, intense energy your mom would later describe as “slightly alarming.”
Before we travel back in time to the 1980s, however, this game was downright normal. Charming, even.
Want proof? At one point I took a clip of Tom Willander shutting down a Connor McDavid rush with a tell-timed poke check:
At no point while making this clip did I realize this might be the last defensive highlight I would see on the night. Cherish this moment. Look at Tom. He just pokes the puck away. He has no idea what’s coming.
We were different people then. We were just normal men. Just innocent men.
Heck, I even had a clip of Mr. Plow taking care of the Vasili Podkolzin crease-crashing problem by quietly, but firmly, escorting him out of Kevin Lankinen’s crease:
Speaking of things that stopped happening near the end of the first period, here is Kevin making a brilliant save on Leon Draisaitl as if to say “I dare you to try that nine more times!”:
Paul Cotter plays Leon pretty decently, all things considered, but Draisaitl has the energy, skill and confidence all members of Das Sound Machine seem to have, making him a formidable opponent. Hollywood can’t ruin a script by making the wrong team win in this scenario, alas.
Which, if you can give me a moment of your time, Bring It On did things correctly. You remember that moral victory we talked about? The once in a blue moon one where it feels real? Bring It On pulled it off. The Rancho Carne Toros didn’t win, but they tried their best, didn’t use a generic Spirit Fingers routine (albeit with a killer song), and went out on their shields. They could be proud of that.
The Bellas, on the other hand, completely screwed over DSM. Fact check time:
  • Bellas brought in former alumni for the finals, blatant cheating
  • Was not even close to the precision and talents of Das Sound Machine, both in singing quality and choreography
  • Randomly used an original song in a sport made completely about covering songs
  • Allowed Emily Junk to join the group through legal loophole shenanigans, the kind of ski shenanigans I don’t allow on my mountain.
If the Bellas had lost to DSM, there would have been honour in that. And they would have had their proper moral victory. But instead, they cheated and were rewarded for it.
But I digress.
Back to the regular clips of a regular game, here is Marco Rossi with a nice zone entry, leading to a Luke Schenn point shot that Brock Boeser almost fires home:
Rossi drawing in four Oilers before finding Schenn at the point is a nice display of skill from the former ninth overall draft pick, who is still only 25. The odds of him being a big part of a Canucks playoff machine seem slim, but in terms of being a viable asset to trade down the line, this is the sort of thing you want to see from him.
Drew O’Connor was up next, as he stripped the puck from DSM member Leon Draisaitl, ending up with Linus Karlsson trying to feather a puck through the air for a tap-in:
Was that an optimistic pass? Of course it was. But that’s what the Good Vibes Only Era is all about. What better time than now to try out your best Pavel Barber impersonations?
At one point, Evan Bouchard took a shot, and the puck didn’t go in the net, something that was downright impossible in game one:
See? He doesn’t score on every single shot he takes against Vancouver; it just feels that way sometimes.
It was a completely normal hockey game, I swear to god, I am not making that up.
But then everything changed.
Best every single time
Vasili Podkolzin always had the work rate; it was his finish that was always missing in his few minutes of time on the ice, an out-of-touch old man living off of a legacy Cup ring gave him in Vancouver.
And while it’s an admittedly small sample size, through two games this season, Podkolzin’s finish has been downright sublime. McDavid, Draisaitl, or heck, why not Kasperi Kapanen, all seem to enjoy setting him up for clinical finishes:
It’s almost as if “Jim Rutherford isn’t afraid to make bold moves!” wasn’t quite the charming descriptor we thought it was. “Randomly decides to make changes after waking up from his nap” might be the more accurate framing, but it is what it is at this point.
Regardless, Podkolzin’s hot start continued against the Canucks, as he easily finished off the pass from Kapanen after Paul Cotter and Fil Hronek both sort of drifted away from the former Canucks first-rounder. Before Cotter could get back in position, it was 1-0 Edmonton.
I will say, it will be nice for the Canucks to face a team that isn’t the Edmonton Oilers, whose biggest weapon continues to be their power play. They have a way of making even the best penalty kill units look like they just booted up NHL ’27 for the first time and just spent the last 20 minutes trying to figure out what “hybrid controls” mean.
Best locked in
At this point, you could start to see some cracks in the Canucks system, as they started looking frightened by the Edmonton Oilers’ skill gap. Breakdowns in coverage led to a proud NHL tradition of a player getting their first-ever career goal against Vancouver:
The Michael Owens remix edition in the form of Owen Michaels was the recipient of the pass from Mathieu Joseph, who had just spent the last 10 seconds watching a very confused Arshdeep Bains running around the ice, not quite sure who or what to cover, resulting in him covering bees? Was it bees?
Best from the windows
Remember when Bouchard didn’t score on every shot he took against Vancouver? Those were good times:
This was literally the next shift after the Oilers’ second goal, and you can chalk it up to a bit of bad luck as the puck takes a strange hop off the rebound, hits Tom Willander, and goes into the net.
That being said, this is the second game in a row where the Willander/Oleksiak pairing was objectively the worst on the team. We’re not anywhere near a panic situation, but it’s more of a keeping an eye on it situation. It’s a “hey Beth, keep that door open while you and Timmy study” scenario where you have a sneaking suspicion that something might be going on, but you don’t have any proof yet.
When they’ve played together, it’s just felt like they’re each in the hospital, but they’re both each other’s emergency contact.
Best to the walls
On the shift after that goal, Luke Schenn was then penalized for finishing his check on Colton Dach, who, if I try to describe it in the most charitable way possible, was an homage to Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan?
Dramatic face-holding aside, Schenn was sent to the box, which meant the Oilers, holding a three-goal lead, now had another power play.
BUT YOU KNOW WHO DIDN’T CARE ABOUT NONE OF THAT? KEVIN “SEVIN MINUTES IN HEAVEN” LANKINEN:
Why is Connor so fast? How is this legal? Why did Ben Johnson lose a medal for doing the same thing?
Still, a tremendous save that, with creative editing, Lankinen can show the grandkids one day about how he beat the Oilers 1-0 on October 1st, 2026.
Best remembering what it’s all about
The final exclamation point of the period was yet to come, however, when the Scranton Strangler himself, Ryan Shea, made it 4-0 after Max Sasson lost the race with him on the backcheck:
You know what they say, though: it’s a good night when you can hold Shea to a single goal.
At this point, the Oilers had outshot the Canucks 15-2, and you know what, I don’t think anyone would have blamed them for giving up if they wanted to.
But this isn’t Adam Foote’s team anymore. No no no, this is Manny Malholtra’s team and-
Best till the sweat drips down my
OK wait, we have a fifth goal to get to before we do the rousing Rudy-esque speech about Manny:
Like at this point, if Kevin had just pulled himself, I would have fully understood it. He could have skated to the bench and been like, “peace out, not my night,” and I would have been like, you know what, it ISN’T your night; see you tomorrow, my friend. Draisaitl just stunted on you and banked a puck in off your head from behind the net; there is very clearly nowhere else to go but down from here.
Who amongst us hasn’t had a day where something so embarrassing happens that you know you need a night to sleep it off? You could win the lottery later that night, but you’d still be coming to terms with sending out that company-wide e-mail earlier in the day dropping a “for all intents and purposes.”
Best kill it with fire
The Canucks finally got on the scoreboard when Liam Ohgren, showing the heart and hustle of a young Paul Cotter, forced a turnover and found a young Paul Cotter in the slot:
It’s the fact that Paul Cotter scored the same goal you have scored in every iteration of EA Sports hockey games that makes you realize he truly is a man of the people. He doesn’t just shoot; he does the right-left-right deke into a shot.
Brock Boeser? He snipes it there.
Cody Hodgson? He goes bar down.
Erik Gudbranson? He misses the net wildly.
But Paul Effing Cotter? He gives you that razzle dazzle.
Sadly, the Canucks are still using Simple Minds as their goal song, which we got to hear seven times on the night. Each time it went off, it was just another reminder of the Hughes/Miller era, something the team should be desperately distancing itself from.
You can’t lean into getting back in touch with the community and the fanbase when you’ve still got the wedding ring on after the divorce; that’s all I’m saying.
Best suffer like G did
Cotter Otter glory was short-lived, though, as the Oilers were once again ruthless in their ability to use the next shift to murder the Canucks.
This time it was Zeev Buium floating high into coverage to try and shut down Isaac Howard, which then left Trent Frederic all alone to bash home the rebound:
It was not a banner night for systems hockey; Bo Horvat can tell you that for free.
Best shooting percentage victories
Taking a page out of the Oilers’ books, the Canucks used THEIR next shift to make it a 6-2 game, this time after a gorgeous outlet pass from Jamie Oleksiak was feathered into the skating lane of Brock Boeser from one Paul Effing Cotter:
Looking like the NHL’s 2018 shooting accuracy champion, Brock Boeser cleanly beats Devon Levi, who last played a game of hockey when Jean Chrétien was Prime Minister, I believe.
You might notice Jake Walman on that goal being used as the perfect screen by Brock Boeser. He is a common theme on the Canucks goals, as he and his partner Shakir Mukhamadullin (-3 and -4 respectively) had a night that feels like Babcock is going to demand to see their phones tomorrow?
All of which is happening because Walman laughed at Tomáš Nosek during Game 1 of the 2025 Finals.
People don’t forget, Jake.
Best ride or die
See, this is where the true test comes into play. Down 6-2, the Canucks get a power play, and you’re thinking, “ok maybe they don’t get scored on for two minutes; it’s a nice breather.”
Only to turn around and watch as the Oilers score two shorthanded goals on the same power play. This is a thing that happened.
Now objectively, Brock Boeser making a drop pass right to a trailing Connor McDavid is hilarious:
If you ever wanted proof that Brock Boeser possesses zero spidey sense in his body, it would be that he had no clue that the most dangerous player in the game (ok, that’s probably Nate because he’s a psycho, but you get it) is right behind him. Boeser doesn’t even have time to exclaim “clever girl…” before being taken out. He just turns around, and McDavid is doing his stupid video game stuff, making it 7-2.
Before they can even recover from that, Zeev Buium gets absolutely turn-styled by Kapanen, who then goes on to score the most disrespectful goal of the season so far:
Kapanen slides that puck in at a healthy 1 kilometre per hour while four Canucks skate the wrong direction, all looking back in agony as the puck slowly trickles in. You have to admire it, to be honest. Just a top-tier troll job from Kapanen.
At this point, Manny Malholtra had no choice but to pull Kevin Lankinen, who not only let in eight goals on the night, who not only had a puck banked in off of his head, but now just had to sit and watch a puck check both ways before slowly crossing the street to score on him.
I assume Manny was doing everything in his power to not throw newly acquired Leevi Meriläinen to the wolves in this one, but there comes a point where a man has got to have a code. You had to give the mercy pull to Lankinen at that point.
Best I didn’t hear no bell
Which is where we found ourselves when we were talking about how the Canucks had every right to want to fold up shop and quit. I think a lot of people saw this as a perfect spot to see how Manny would respond, and if he could get the team to keep working, and you know what? That son of a bitch did it. He really did it.
First up was Arshdeep Bains, and while it’s clear he has struggled to make an impact at the NHL level, this might have been his best game of his Canucks career. It wasn’t perfect, but when things had to get dirty, he was right in the front lines, crashing the net and making Levi sweat:
Scoring on the buzzer-beater meant they were heading into the third down 8-3, which again, that’s a perfect spot to just sort of rag the puck and wait for the clock to run out on the third period.
Except Manny doesn’t want to hear that kind of talk. That’s how quitters speak.
Best keep on keeping on
Nothing too fancy on the Canucks fourth goal, but what stood out to me was Willander’s confidence in the offensive zone:
Shoots the puck, gets blocked, gets the puck back, gets the puck back on net, and Marco Rossi is there to bang home the rebound.
The Canucks tried to layer the front of the net under Rick Tocchet, especially in his second year here, and it always seemed to neuter their ability to crash the net. It’s nice to see the Canucks moving the puck with speed in the offensive zone and then twice get goals from crashing hard into the crease to get the greasy goals going.
Best it kept getting weirder
The Canucks would then make it five on the night, this time after Marco Rossi, fueled by spite and anger, cross-checked Shakir Mukhamadullin, which allowed the puck to bounce in off of his shoulder:
Initially, officials waved it off, fearing Edmonton might lose the game, but video replay overturned the call, and the goal stood.
What I liked about this shift was Bains was once again a noticeable force for good, as his physical play and work along the boards kept Edmonton on their heels.
I also liked that Marco Rossi has a bit of that “eff you” energy that Pavel Bure had to the point where if this was the mid-90s I would put money down on him trying to murder someone with an elbow. He’s the kind of guy in beer league who, if you win a board battle against him, he is slashing your leg three times on the next shift.
I just like players who are perpetually offended in hockey; it makes for good TV.
Best throwback
You want vintage EP40? THEN HAVE YOURSELVES SOME VINTAGE EP40:
Set up by who else, Marco Rossi, Elias Pettersson absolutely crushes the one timer and makes it a two goal game. Which is wild. This game was over; it was done. But this team refused to quit.
You can go to work today and talk about this team without feeling shame. You can lament the loss, but can also say “But that shot from EP40, hell of a shot, hell of a shot…” while you trail off and try to find an awkward way to excuse yourself to get back to work.
That’s all people wanted. A team that looked like it gave a shit.
Best bringing sexy back
They always say the seventh goal is the hardest in a comeback, and due to a Canucks penalty, Draisaitl did Draisaitl things and basically went full Gary Roberts Too Much Man on the power play and restored a three-goal lead for Edmonton:
I assume Max Sasson is looking forward to Saturday’s game against Calgary, where he won’t have to take on Leon or Connor. Just a hunch.
Best and one for the road
You know what, this game was missing a piss missile Oleksiak goal:
Even down 9-6 with under two minutes left, the Canucks are out there grinding for a goal. That’s good sh!t, man. Hell yeah.
If you can get Mike Babcock to take a timeout with under 10 seconds left and a two-goal lead, you know you’ve done something right.
Edmonton won, but god damn did Vancouver make it entertaining.
Best new sound
Last year would have been Breaking Bad pictures of Miller and EP40 fighting over how to make the purest meth, so it’s nice we’re back to boy band vibes.
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