The Edmonton Oilers were defeated 4-3 by the host Vancouver Canucks in a game that went to overtime at Rogers Arena on Sunday (Oct. 26) night.
Leon Draisaitl scored twice and Jack Roslovic added a goal for the Oilers, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to force overtime. Edmonton netminder Calvin Pickard stopped 23 of the 27 shots he faced.
Related: Sherwood’s 2 Goals Lead Canucks to 4-3 Overtime Victory Over the Oilers
Kiefer Sherwood had a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, for the Canucks. Vancouver also got one goal each from Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson, and a 26-save performance from goalie Thatcher Demko.
With the overtime loss, Edmonton now has a record of 4-4-2 through the first 10 games of its 2025-26 schedule. The Oilers and Canucks are tied for fourth in the Pacific Division with 10 points apiece.
Oilers Fall Behind Early and Often
Troubling early-season trends continued for the Oilers on Sunday at Rogers Arena, where the home team led 1-0 through 20 minutes and built its lead to 3-1 after two periods.
Edmonton has now scored first in just one of its last seven games and trailed entering the third period in five of the last six games.
Whether it’s a lack of focus or effort, a combination thereof, or something else altogether, the Oilers have come out flat far too often over the last couple weeks. Sunday’s game was just the latest example, as the Oilers found themselves behind by two goals early in the second period when Pettersson scored on the power play, and were fortunate not to trail 3-0 after a Sherwood goal in the middle frame was disallowed because the play was ruled offside.
Edmonton was much stronger in the third period, sparked by Roslovic’s goal — his first as an Oiler — just 1:21 into the final frame that cut their deficit to 3-2. But while Edmonton’s effort over the final 20 minutes of regulation was encouraging, it just raised the question of why the Oilers couldn’t play that way from the opening faceoff.
Draisaitl Delivers
Draisaitl had another big game offensively for Edmonton. His first goal of the night, coming at 16:32 of the second period, got the Oilers on the board when they were trailing 2-0. Then he tied the game up at 3-3, taking a feed from Connor McDavid and firing the puck past Demko for a power-play goal with just 5:03 remaining in the game.
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Simon Fearn-Imagn Images)
While almost all of his teammates are shooting blanks so far this season (only five Edmonton skaters have scored more than once, and McDavid is not one of them), Draisaitl is putting the Oilers on his back. The German centre now has seven goals, tied for fourth most in the NHL, and he shares the NHL lead with four power-play goals.
Oilers Click on the Power Play
Speaking of which, one positive for the Oilers of late has been their power-play performance. Sunday marked Edmonton’s fourth consecutive game scoring with the man advantage, and the Oilers are a stellar 6-for-12 on the power play over that stretch.
It’s not only that Edmonton’s power play is converting, but that it’s coming through at the most pivotal times: Against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 21, Jake Walman scored the game-winning goal in overtime with the man advantage; In a 6-5 home victory over the Montreal Canadiens last Thursday (Oct. 23), the Oilers erased a two-goal third period deficit with a pair of power-play goals; and at Rogers Arena on Sunday, Edmonton’s top power-play unit produced the game-tying goal that allowed the Oilers to at least escape Vancouver with a point.
When the Oilers are struggling to score, it becomes even more important to capitalize on power-play opportunities, especially when they’re able to unleash the duo of Draisaitl and McDavid.
Road Weary Oilers
The Oilers have played seven of their first 10 games away from the friendly confines of Rogers Place, and they’ve hardly proven to be road warriors.
Edmonton won its first away game of the season, 2-0 over the New York Rangers on Oct. 14 at Madison Square Garden. But since then, the Oilers are just 1-4-1 on the road, with the one win coming in sudden death against Ottawa. Edmonton has scored either two or three goals in all seven of its road games.
With that in mind, the Oilers will surely be happy to get back to Rogers Place, where they’ll play their next three games, starting with a matchup against the red-hot Utah Mammoth on Tuesday (Oct. 28). Edmonton is 2-0-1 at home.
