EDMONTON — Mike Babcock's debut behind the Edmonton Oilers bench unraveled in a sloppy 6-5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday in Edmonton. The Oilers needed a late three-goal comeback just to secure a single point, surrendering six goals after allowing only five across four exhibition games.
Evan Bouchard delivered a five-point night with a hat trick and two assists, becoming the first NHL defenceman with a season-opening hat trick since Mark Howe of the Hartford Whalers in 1980. All three goals came on wrist shots past Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen, without the trademark Bouch Bomb. "It was one of those nights," Bouchard said. "But without those guys in front none of them were going in. (Zach Hyman) was battling, (Vasily Podkolzin) is always battling in front. Without those guys they wouldn’t have went in." Podkolzin scored twice against the club that drafted him 10th overall, his second a rocket with 42.5 seconds left in the third period to force overtime.
"We turned the puck over. We stayed out too long on the ice. We made poor decisions," Babcock said. "I mean, we gave up six tonight. I think we gave up five in exhibition (in four games). If we want to work, we want to do things right, we're going to have a lot of success. If we want to play like that, we're going to be chasing the game. To be honest with you, I feel fortunate we got a point." Babcock added, "The hard part is we have to play way better. That was ridiculous. You can't have a guy with five points and lose the hockey game. It just doesn't make any sense."
Returning Oilers goalie Tristan Jarry struggled in the opener, allowing a soft goal that broke a 2-2 tie just 70 seconds into the third period as Vancouver built a 5-2 lead. He faced several high-quality chances and did not deliver a big save until overtime. "I need one or two of those," Jarry said. "You never want to get scored on. Obviously the goalie has the biggest outcome of the game and when he has those slips or those downs in a game, it makes for a (bad) game." Asked about his new goalie, Babcock said, "It's pretty clear. Let's move on."
"We can talk about these guys and talent, but we have to do things right as a group," Babcock said. "Not for one second did I think this was going to be easy. Tonight was an indication we have serious work to do. Playing like that, getting away from the way we have to play, is unacceptable for us." Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' injury at Monday's practice forced Babcock to split Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, pushing Alex Formenton to the top line with McDavid and Hyman while Podkolzin skated with Draisaitl and Kasperi Kapanen following Nugent-Hopkins being ruled out for the opener. The teams reconvene Thursday night in Vancouver.