Oilers' Devon Levi has the opportunity to win the starter's job

Following the Edmonton Oilers season opening loss, they have the opportunity to redeem themselves with a victory in a rematch against the Vancouver Canucks.

Last game, the Oilers had a late rally to comeback and tie the game up 5-5, forcing overtime where they eventually lost. There was a big performance from defenceman Evan Bouchard, scoring five points, beginning his own redemption year as he hopes to win the Norris Trophy. In addition to Bouchard, Vasily Podkolzin had a standout game after being given a great opportunity to have a breakout season.

A player who garnered a lot of negative attention after last game was veteran netminder Tristan Jarry who allowed six goals on 23 shots against. He ended the night with a .739 save percentage and a performance that did not help his start to a bounce back year.

Ahead of game two, the Oilers announced that goaltender Devon Levi would make his Oilers debut and his first start of the 2026-27 season.

Levi could take the reins

Since he was acquired by the Oilers in a mid-season trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins last year, Jarry has struggled in the crease. In 17 starts, the 31 year old has a 9-6-3 record with one shutout and a .851 save percentage.

Given Jarry's poor performance since being acquired by the Oilers and with Frederik Andersen reported to be out with an injury long-term, Levi has an opportunity to take the reins as the Oilers' starter.

The 24 year old was acquired by the Oilers this summer and brings a lot of promise, garnering many accolades throughout his junior career. He won goaltender of the year twice and finished as a finalist for the Hobey Baker award as NCAA MVP two times as well.

Oilers make emergency recall

The Oilers long injury list continues to grow as the team also reveals that Zach Hyman will miss Thursday's game against the Canucks. Although not formally on injured reserve, Hyman could be out for upwards of two weeks after sustaining the injury in their preseason finale against the Calgary Flames.

The Oilers also placed forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on injured reserve, while they placed forward Matt Savoie and defenceman Alec Regula on long-term injured reserve. These injuries puts the Oilers down by three top-six forwards and a large number of others with the likes of Andersen and Mattias Janmark along with Jason Dickinson who are all on the sidelines with injuries.

With the numerous injuries plaguing the team, the club recalled forward Josh Samanski from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. He will make his 2026-27 season debut on Thursday as well.

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