The Edmonton Oilers kicked off their 2026-27 campaign with a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Rogers Place, which opened on September 8, 2016.
Generally speaking, the play on the ice was not worthy of any kind of celebration, as the Oilers lost 6-5 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks.
Here are my main takeaways from the Oilers' season-opening loss.
Very fast start ... but look out below?
Even though the poor early-period play as a whole could be the main takeaway here, the catalyst for that was the plethora of numerical disadvantages the Oilers had going back towards their own end of the ice.
The Oilers were able to get off the line well, and they looked poised to build an early advantage. The Oilers saw an early shot drift a few inches away from the right goal post, and their first power play produced a couple quality scoring chances.
But with the heavy commitment towards the front end of the ice came a handful of fast-break chances for Vancouver. While a three-on-one opportunity was stopped with ease, the Oilers also had to deal with a breakaway and a two-on-one short-handed opportunity that ended in the Canucks earning a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard was able to (partially) bail the Oilers out with his first goal of the season, tying the score at one goal apiece. But an early-second-period breakaway chance from Marco Rossi nullified that goal while restoring Vancouver's lead and making the Oilers' fast-break issues more apparent.
The fact that the Oilers recorded 13 shots on goal during the first period should make the Oilers' performance look better, but there has to be a lot cleaned up in terms of defensive transitions and making the most of the first 20 minutes.
The Oilers' end-of-period play was consistently stronger despite opening surge
It seems that the Oilers know how to play the final halves of periods.
Is that because they were playing on the back foot all game? Partially, and such a fact is reinforced by Vancouver's early-period surges. The Oilers conceded goals during the opening five minutes of the second and third periods; the latter saw the Canucks score three times in just over four minutes to take a 5-2 lead. Though the Oilers only conceded their first of six goals just before the midway mark of the first period, the fact of the matter is that they looked terrible in opening-period play.
In response to the Canucks' three early-to-mid-period leads, the Oilers were able to put together three dominant mid-to-end-of-period runs. All three saw the Oilers erase any advantage Vancouver had, with the third featuring a three-goal comeback that ended in Vasily Podkolzin rescuing a point for the Oilers with 40 seconds left in the third period.
The Oilers should be applauded for rescuing a point in what seemed to be an unsalvageable spot. Considering that the Canucks generally controlled the scoreboard and did reasonably well to manage the Oilers' offensive zone presence, an overtime point was nearly-unthinkable at a few instances in the game.
But the Oilers could very easily have won this game. The fact that they didn't, and that they conceded five goals within the opening half of each period, should easily ring alarm bells.
Colton Dach had himself a strong season-opener
After being named to the Oilers' opening night roster, Colton Dach made sure to reinforce head coach Mike Babcock's belief in his ability to contribute to the team's success.
Dach's impact was more evident on both the physical and the defensive side of the game. He recorded a total of four hits through 15 minutes of action; his hit total was tied for the second-most of any Oilers forward that night. Dach also had a takeaway and a faceoff win percentage of 53.3%, and he was able to create pressure on Vancouver's puck-carriers.
While Dach couldn't reinforce his performance with a goal or an assist, he recorded the joint-third-most shifts of any Oilers forward.
With the above in mind, one can infer that Babcock knows how much of an impact Dach can have and that he is willing to give him opportunities to make his presence felt. Expect him to see increased ice time over the next few games.
The defensive performance included the good ... and the bad
Bouchard's hat trick clearly acted as the bright spot for the Oilers' defense, but Mattias Ekholm deserves a little praise in this regard. Not only did he record two shots on goal, but he also recorded a +2 +/- rating while playing just under 21 minutes on Tuesday.
But the four giveaways? Yeah ... not an ideal complement to Ekholm's offensive play.
Elsewhere, Connor Murphy was also able to put a strong game together. He recorded two shots and four blocks through 18-and-a-half minutes of action.
The story around the defensive end of the ice will ultimately be one of "déjà vu?" Even with the statistical contributions in mind, the Oilers still gave up six goals to a Canucks team that only averaged two-and-a-half goals per game last season.
How to make that number even more concerning? It came on just 23 shots on goal allowed.
What's next?
The Oilers will hope to rectify their not-so-great opening to the 2026-27 season when they complete the home-and-home series with the Canucks on Thursday night. Puck drop at Rogers Arena is set for 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
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