The one Edmonton fans will still be talking about is the comeback that almost stole the night. Down 5-2 early in the third after Vancouver scored three times in just over four minutes, the Oilers dragged the game back from the edge: Vasily Podkolzin snapped one in at 8:56, Evan Bouchard followed 24 seconds later to complete his hat trick, and Podkolzin struck again on the power play with 43 seconds left to force overtime.
That made the finish sting. Paul Cotter, who had opened the scoring shorthanded in the first period, delivered the dagger on a backhand at 1:59 of OT, giving the Canucks a 6-5 win at Rogers Place. Edmonton still came away with a point, moving to 0-0-1 with an OT1 streak, but this one had the shape of a rescued game before it slipped away.
Bouchard was everywhere: three goals, two assists, and the first star in a losing cause. Podkolzin added two Edmonton goals, while Connor McDavid picked up two assists and Leon Draisaitl helped set up the late tying power-play goal. Vancouver’s swings were just as sharp, from Marco Rossi’s second-period marker to the third-period burst from Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Max Sasson and Elias Pettersson that built the 5-2 lead.