EDMONTON, Alberta — Kyle Turris scored the shootout winner and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Jesse Puljujarvi and Zach Hyman scored in regulation for the Oilers, who squandered a late lead. Edmonton also got a pair of assists from Connor McDavid. Mike Smith finished with 36 saves.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Quinn Hughes scored for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko made 32 saves.
Edmonton got the game’s first goal with three minutes left in the first period when Puljujarvi snagged a rebound from a Darnell Nurse shot and beat Demko.
Midway through the second, the Oilers’ Kailer Yamamoto had a breakaway, but Demko was able to make the stop.
The Oilers made it 2-0 with three minutes left in the second with a three-way passing play finished off when Hyman scored his first goal as an Oiler into a wide-open net, off a feed from Leon Draisaitl.
Vancouver finally beat Smith when Ekman-Larsson scored on a shot from the point on a power play with about 7:30 left in the third.
The Canucks tied the contest with 2:49 left in the third period when Hughes snuck a shot in short side, eventually sending the game to overtime.
NOTES: Edmonton forward Colton Sceviour signed a one-year, two-way contract Wednesday. The deal has an average annual value of $750,000. The 32-year-old Sceviour attended training camp on a professional tryout. Also, forward Zack Kassian was placed on injured reserve, and forward Josh Archibald was put on long-term injured reserve. Defenseman Philip Broberg was loaned to Bakersfield and forward Kyle Turris was recalled from the American Hockey League affiliate. … It was the third consecutive season that the teams have faced off in the season-opener. … Both teams had significant changes in the offseason, with the Oilers sporting seven new faces and the Canucks featuring 13 new players. … Edmonton went 6-1-1 in preseason play, while Vancouver was 2-5-0.
UP NEXT
Canucks: At Philadelphia on Friday night.
Oilers: Host Calgary on Saturday night.