THIRD PERIOD
0.0: OILERS WIN! The club hangs on to secure the one-goal lead and defeat Vancouver 3-2 at Rogers Place, improving to 5-1-1 in the pre-season. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
17.4: Smith tries to go for the goalie goal but just misses the mark. He had the length, though…
1:31: Down a goal late, Vancouver Head Coach Travis Green pulls Halak for the extra attacker.
3:56: A scary situation unfolds as Kassian and MacEwen drop the mitts right off the faceoff, leading to Kassian hitting his head on the ice after falling to the ground. The winger gets up slowly and heads to the dressing room.
5:30: Nugent-Hopkins makes a great high-slot tip on Bouchard’s point shot and it gets past Halak, only to be waived off immediately due to Zach Hyman interfering with the opposing netminder. Vancouver stays down by just one.
9:51: Get out of the kitchen! Smith is roughed up by MacEwen as he’s digging for the loose puck and the Oilers keeper takes exception, shaking off his bucket and wrestling with the Canucks forward. MacEwen is whistled for goaltender interference and Darnell Nurse gets a roughing penalty after stepping in to defend his netminder.
10:19: Podkolzin pulls some fancy stickwork for a backhand attempt but Smith flashes the leather.
11:42: McDavid and Draisaitl play keep away in the offensive zone, dishing the puck to one another then spinning off defensive players to get open for a few looks at the net. The puck heads the other way and Cody Ceci is called for slashing. A big kill is upcoming for the Oilers, who are 2-for-4 on the PK.
15:06: Smith gets his leg on a point shot and then stays composed when former Oiler Alex Chiasson reloads on the follow-up to no avail.
20:00: The third period has begun!
SECOND PERIOD
0.0: Ryan’s second goal of the pre-season puts Edmonton ahead to enter the 3rd. Shots through 40 minutes are 33-21 Oilers.
28.0: Draisaitl makes a sublime spinning backhand pass to McDavid for a partial breakaway but No. 97 sees his forehand attempt thwarted by Halak.
4:40: McDavid teleports the puck onto Hyman’s blade as he’s crashing towards the cage, going to his backhand but being robbed by Halak’s pad.
8:56: The Canucks get a chance to counter on another powerplay of their own as Russell skates over to the box because of an interference infraction.
9:27: GO AHEAD GOAL! Derek Ryan deflects Keith’s point shot to restore the Oilers lead! Keith and Warren Foegele get rewarded with the assists. | EDM 3, VAN 2
12:02: Another one… Vancouver takes a too many men penalty, giving the Oilers a sufficient 1:25 of two-man advantage time.
12:37: Burroughs is tagged with a high-sticking minor. Can the Oilers bag their third PP goal tonight for the lead?
14:22: Nic Petan tips Pettersson’s shot-pass up and over Smith’s left shoulder for the equalizer. This one is turning out to be a battle of the special teams as the Canucks follow the Oilers two power-play tallies with a pair of their own. | EDM 2, VAN 2
15:50: Keith is heading back to the box after taking a holding minor. The penalty comes right after the Canucks dinged the crossbar after applying heavy pressure. Edmonton will look to ward off VAN’s momentum shorthanded.
18:04: Hughes’ slapper ricochets off the post and in to cut Vancouver’s deficit in half. | EDM 2, VAN 1
18:39: McDavid will sit for two minutes for holding.
20:00: The second period is under way.
FIRST PERIOD
0.0: The Oilers double up on the visiting Canucks, taking a 2-0 lead and 18-9 shot advantage into the middle frame.
1:26: SMITH ➡️ DRAISAITL ➡️ MCDAVID 🚨! Smith moves the puck up ice to Draisaitl and he sends it to McDavid, who goes short side on Halak for the power-play marker. Edmonton pots their second man-advantage goal to go 2-for-4 so far tonight. | EDM 2, VAN 0
2:23: Kyle Burroughs gets his stick up on Derek Ryan and you guessed it, he’s now in the penalty box. The home team is 1-for-3 tonight.
2:33: Power-play unit two gets out and works the biscuit around. Evan Bouchard serves as the trigger, firing a blast from the left side that Halak gets across to.
4:37: SCHMIDDY! The Oilers netminder makes an INCREDIBLE stop, getting into the spread eagle position to get his toe on Vasily Podkolzin’s backdoor attempt on a 3-on-1. Smith was shaken up after the play but returned to his feet between the pipes. The Orange & Blue go to the power play.
5:10: Canucks’ forward Elias Pettersson, fresh off inking a new contract, hacks his way through the Oilers zone to put a soft shot on Smith and he makes the butterfly stop for the whistle.
8:00: Ryan McLeod, Colton Sceviour, Derek Ryan and Warren Foegele do a good job of staying tight shorthanded to prevent the Canucks from generating much. Smith also helped out, icing the puck from behind his goal-line!
10:06: The penalties continue to pile up as Duncan Keith is sent to the box for tripping. Here’s Head Coach Dave Tippett’s opportunity to see his penalty-killing units in action.
13:10: THE SPOT! Leon Draisaitl HAMMERS a one-timer from his office in the right circle to beat Jaroslav Halak and open the scoring. Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse are credited with the helpers. | EDM 1, VAN 0
13:18: Zach MacEwen hooks Warren Foegele off the faceoff and he is whistled down for the infraction. The Oilers get a two-man advantage for 18 seconds.
15:00: Quinn Hughes gets his stick tangled up with Leon Draisaitl to warrant a hooking call against. Edmonton is given the game’s first man advantage.
16:49: Smith handles his first two shots with ease, kicking aside Sheldon Dries’ snapper and holding onto Madison Bowey’s weak wrister from outside.
20:00: Here we go! The Dynamic Duo reunites on the top unit with Jesse Puljujarvi while Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kyle Turris form Line 2. Kris Russell will make his pre-season debut in new-look No. 6 and Mike Smith will get the nod in goal.
Deploy. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/rZ8Xb5jlvH
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 8, 2021
TONIGHT’S LINEUP
Draisaitl – McDavid – Puljujarvi
Hyman – RNH – Turris
Foegele – Ryan – Kassian
Benson – McLeod – Sceviour
Nurse – Barrie
Keith – Ceci
Russell – Bouchard
Smith
Skinner
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game vs. VAN