Oilers: Instant Reaction From Home Opener Win Against Vancouver

The Edmonton Oilers won their first game of the regular season last night, and Oilers fans should be feeling pretty good.

The Edmonton Oilers played a pretty good team game last night. Winning the game with a final score of 3-2 in the shootout Edmonton had goals from, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Zach Hyman.

Edmonton won the game outshot by the Vancouver Canucks 38 to 34. The team was drastically outhit on the night, but that showcases just how much the Oilers dominated puck possession on the night.

The Oilers’ penalty kill was also really strong in game one, except for a goal late in the third period. Edmonton was four for five on the penalty kill. Now obviously going into the next game of the season on Saturday the team is going to have to stay out of the box.

Edmonton fell apart a little towards the end of the third, as Vancouver got two goals to force overtime and a shootout, but Mike Smith prevailed and Edmonton got the extra point.

A few thoughts on the game:

Jesse Puljujarvi getting the first goal of the night was great to see. He is definitely deserving and is someone the team needs to have a big year. Puljujarvi’s first goal of the season showed the team what they need to do a lot of this season, get in front of the net and see what happens:

The Oilers’ power play looked great tonight scoring on one of their two chances in the first two periods. The puck movement on the man advantage was great. Check out the second goal on the night:

Next game the Oilers need to play a full 60 minutes. Everyone watching and playing in this one knew that Edmonton was the more capable offensive team, but at times the roster kind of took their foot off the gas relying on the lead and the position they were in. It almost cost them as Vancouver got desperate late in the game and tied it up.

Mike Smith proved everyone wrong with this game tonight. With all the talks this offseason about potentially needing another goalie, Smith was outstanding and really earned this win for the team in the overtime and the shootout. Edmonton is back in action on Saturday against Calgary.