EDMONTON — Two early third-period goals broke open a tied game as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 4–2 on Saturday, sending Vancouver to a 3–15–1 record.

According to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, the Canucks delivered a stronger effort than in their previous loss to Winnipeg but could not overcome a decisive stretch against Edmonton’s top players.

Jason Dickinson put the Oilers ahead 2–1 just 49 seconds into the third period, scoring on his second rebound chance. Leon Draisaitl followed 3:11 later with a power-play goal, finishing a backdoor pass from Connor McDavid after Vancouver’s Arshdeep Bains was penalized for holding Mattias Ekholm.

Brock Boeser gave Vancouver a late chance, deflecting Filip Hronek’s shot with 2:35 remaining while the Canucks attacked with their goalie pulled. Draisaitl then scored into the empty net to secure Edmonton’s win.

Vancouver coach Manny Malhotra pointed to improved effort and attention to detail through the first two periods, but said small mistakes proved costly.

“Eventually, obviously, against a team as high-powered as Edmonton, when you give them those little looks, they're going to make good on them,” Malhotra told Sportsnet.

Ekholm opened the scoring at 9:14 of the first period, converting a cross-ice pass from McDavid. Vancouver goaltender Leevi Merilainen kept the deficit at one through an early Edmonton push before Max Sasson redirected Jamie Oleksiak’s point shot with eight seconds left in the period to tie it.

The Canucks had opportunities to take the lead in the second, including a Linus Karlsson breakaway stopped by Edmonton goalie Devon Levi. The teams remained tied despite the Oilers holding a 21–11 shot advantage through 40 minutes. Edmonton finished ahead 30–22 in shots.

Vancouver returns home Monday to face the Philadelphia Flyers.

Sources