GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Canucks 1

EDMONTON, AB – We're off and running.

Centre Noah Philp scored his first career NHL goal, and winger Andrew Mangiapane marked his 500th NHL game by tallying his second in as many games for the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night in a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place on Hockey Night in Canada.

"It just reminds me of all the people that supported me, and I'm just grateful to be here," Philp said.

The Oilers doubled up the Canucks in shots by a 37-15 margin and finally broke the deadlock during the second period off a fast rush up ice from their second line of Philp, Kasperi Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin, seeing the Canmore product finish the play off for his first goal to give his side the 1-0 lead.

Mangiapane lifted Edmonton into a two-goal lead during the final minute of the second period, intercepting a careless pass from Filip Chytil from the corner while playing four-on-four and firing his second goal in his second game wearing Blue & Orange past Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko to make it 2-0.

After Brock Boeser made it 2-1 early in the third period, forward Leon Draisaitl iced the victory with the Oilers shorthanded and the Canucks' net empty with 1:13 remaining by finishing it off with a fantastic no-look backhand from the neutral zone that went off the post and in for his second goal of the season.

Goaltender Calvin Pickard stopped 14 of 15 shots for the Oilers to secure the victory in his first start of the season.

The Oilers now hit the road for a lengthy five-game road trip starting on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.

TOMASEK & THE POWER PLAY CAN'T BUY A GOAL

It wasn't for a lack of trying for forward David Tomasek and the Oilers' power play in the opening frame.

The 29-year-old newcomer to the NHL did everything but find the back of the net during the first period after receiving a handful of Grade-A chances across two power plays in the opening frame on Saturday, as the Czech product continued to chase down his first NHL goal in only his second game.

Connor McDavid showed ridiculous skill to earn Edmonton's first power play 11:24 into the period, turning on a dime against defenceman Derek Forbort below the goal line to draw the holding call before setting up Leon Draisaitl in front for a chance that needed Thatcher Demko to make a strong save.

On the man advantage, the Oilers captain found a lane through the middle of the ice off a broken play near the top of the offensive zone and proceeded to walk down and throw a pass through the middle to Tomasek, who couldn't get all of his effort before Draisaitl couldn't control the second opportunity.

"I feel like we could have scored two on every power play we had, but their goalie was great," Draisaitl said. "You've got to tip your cap sometimes, and we'll continue to chip away at it."

Before the power play expired, Tomasek had another terrific chance when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' backhand attempt from the left side of the Canucks' crease produced a dangerous rebound in front, but he couldn't push the puck through the five-hole of Demko to give the Oilers an early advantage.

Tomasek also did his job drawing penalties, taking a high stick from former Oilers winger Evander Kane along the boards in Vancouver's end that led to Edmonton's second power play, which sadly included more chances for him that he couldn't put away as part of their top unit.

After dropping to one knee and shortening the grip on his stick at the left post, Tomasek had a few healthy whacks at a loose puck off McDavid's pass across the blue paint that didn't result in anything but a mad scramble around the Canucks' net and the Czech forward still in search of his first NHL goal.

At the end of Edmonton's second power play, Tomasek was robbed through a screen by the glove of Demko after getting himself open in the danger area to accept a pass from Draisaitl, with last year's leading scorer in the Swedish Hockey League holding his head in his hands after failing to score.

Demko was the main culprit for denying the Oilers the lead after 20 minutes, with Edmonton outshooting Vancouver 14-4 in the period, while Tomasek accounted for three of those across his team's two chances on the power play in the first period.

"[Demko] was the difference for a large chunk there, so I thought we were the better team," Draisaitl said. "We played really well, had our legs, and all four lines were kind of going and different guys chipping in. So I think we're going to be a hard team to beat when we consistently find a way to play like that."

PHILP POTS HIS FIRST NHL GOAL

Congratulations to the Canmore kid.

After what David Tomasek couldn't do with a handful of chances on the power play, forward Noah Philp was able to notch his first career NHL goal to open the scoring for the Oilers in the second period after finishing a terrific rush up ice from Edmonton's third line that saw all of them get on the scoresheet.

"Amazing to see," Draisaitl said. "Obviously, it's a great story. Those always feel a little bit more special, and he's a really good kid. He wants to be here and he wants to make a difference, and when things like that happen, you get very excited for him."

With the Oilers defending in their own zone with 12 minutes gone in the middle frame, Philp pursued Conor Garland behind the Oilers' net and forced the turnover to create a fast rush between himself, Kasperi Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin that demonstrated exactly why Head Coach Kris Knoblauch is keen to stick to this trio as his fast and physical line that can make it hard on their opponents.

"All three of them played well tonight," Knoblauch said. "We gave them more heavy minutes, more difficult situations, and I thought the three of them played well, and it's good to see Noah get rewarded with that goal."

"I love playing with both of those guys. They just bring so much," Philp added. "And I think when we're all moving and we're all working, we're strong and we can get a lot of pucks back and create a lot. I'm hoping to just keep building with those guys."

After each forward touched the puck in the neutral zone while heading up ice, Philp took an inside feed from Kapanen and managed to shrug off the back pressure from towering defenceman Tyler Myers before scraping his snap shot inside the near post under Demko's left arm for his first career NHL goal.

"We turned it over in the D zone, and I knew we had a three-on-two," Philp said. "Kapanen and I had a couple of exchanges, and I was just trying to get it over to him and drive the net, and he made the play to me and just threw one on goal."

It was Philp's first professional goal since scoring a hat-trick in the AHL against the Henderson Silver Knights while playing for the Bakersfield Condors on April 19, 2025, but his third NHL point after recording two assists in 15 games for the Oilers last season.

The 27-year-old is showcasing why he's fit for a full-time NHL role this season after taking a hiatus from professional hockey in 2023-24 before scoring 19 goals and registering 15 assists in 55 AHL games last season with the Condors to go along with the experience of playing in 15 NHL games.

"Absolutely," Philp said of his increased comfort at the NHL level this season. "I think there are always kinks to work out, and I still feel new to the league. But I'm excited to just keep improving and keep working at it and hopefully get stronger."

MANGIAPANE MAKES IT TWO IN HIS 500TH NHL GAME

The Bread Man keeps providing.

Make it two goals in two games wearing a Blue & Orange uniform for winger Andrew Mangiapane, who celebrated his 500th NHL game on Saturday by doubling his new team's advantage to 2-0 off a hand-delivered gift off the stick of forward Filip Chytil with less than a minute left in the second period.

With the Canucks and Oilers playing four-on-four late in the frame, Vancouver had the chance to get out of their own zone when Myers took the puck off Nugent-Hopkins in the corner, but their attempted breakout quickly turned to disaster when Chytil's attempted cross-ice pass fell into the wrong hands.

Mangiapane intercepted his pass in the left circle to give himself all the time and space he needed to waltz towards the crease uncontested and bait Demko into a far-side shot before sending it inside the near post to give the Oilers a two-goal lead with 51 seconds left in the frame.

"We're very happy with him, and it's about finding some more ice time for him," Knoblauch said. "I know tonight he only played just over 11 minutes, but you could say that with a lot of guys on our team that they deserve a little bit more. But Andrew, we wanted some secondary scoring from a guy like that, and that's why we brought him in. Whether he's playing third line, second line, or even our top line, that's a possibility, but we're very happy with what he's provided."

Through a half-century of games in the NHL, the 29-year-old has 125 goals and 120 assists after notching his 12th career goal in 30 games against the Canucks as a member of the Flames, Capitals and now the Oilers, whom he's currently on pace to score 82 goals with this campaign.

BACKHAND EMPTY-NET BEAUTY FROM LEON

He wasn't even looking at the empty net.

That doesn't matter for German superstar Leon Draisaitl, who owns the NHL's most lethal backhand, whether that's picking out one of his teammates with an incredible pass or throwing in a no-look shot off the post from the neutral zone to cap the victory for the Oilers in the final minutes of Saturday's contest.

Things got a bit nervy for the Oilers early in the final stanza when the Canucks did to them what the Flames did this past Wednesday on opening night, which was scoring inside the first minute to put pressure on them to defend after Brock Boeser scored moments after a Trent Frederic carry-over tripping penalty from the middle frame expired.

The Blue & Orange couldn't cash in on their next power play, nor could they on their final man advantage of the night with six minutes left in regulation, which saw Demko make a massive glove save by stretching out to deny Draisaitl what would've likely been the insurance goal that gave the result to Edmonton.

The Oilers finished 0-for-5 on the power play, but their commitment to defence and special teams' contributions weren't over after a huge hit behind the net on defenceman Alec Regula delivered by Evander Kane led to Philp taking offence and being assessed a cross-checking penalty with 3:05 left on the clock.

Boeser missed a golden opportunity to tie things up from the side of the net, and defenceman Darnell Nurse made a painful block on the penalty kill before the Oilers made them pay with a shorthanded empty-netter that saw Draisaitl finish off the victory with a no-look backhand shot from near the benches.

"I saw it coming, and I just heard a scream because it hit him right in the back," Pickard said of Nurse's vital block. "He's gonna have a big welt for it, but it's just the sacrifice these guys have. They've played huge games for years, and it's game two of 82. You can dip your toe in the water for some of these veterans, but they're out there to work and out there to defend."

McDavid got the puck to Nurse in the defensive end, who threw it up ice to Draisaitl in the neutral zone, where the German caught defenceman Quinn Hughes by surprise when he let go of a no-look backhand shot that went in off the far post and barely crossed the goal line to wrap up a 3-1 victory.

Draisaitl and McDavid have been expanding their reach this season with more time on the penalty kill, and both superstars were able to come up with the stop their team needed before combining with Nurse to put the game away.

"I think both of us are individuals who want to be out there as much as possible. Sometimes, maybe too much," Draisaitl said. "Knobber would agree with that at times, but we just enjoy being out there, and we enjoy that part of the game too. There are different ways to win hockey games and help a team succeed, and if we can help out on the penalty kill, we love doing it."

It took some time for the Oilers to make the most of their shot advantage, plus some steady defending throughout the game to lock out the Canucks, but the group stuck to their game plan, and that served as a point of pride in their locker room post-game on Saturday night after earning a hard-fought victory.

"It was a full 60," Calvin Pickard said. "Pucks weren't going in for us. Demko was great, made a lot of big saves, and we didn't stray away from the game plan. We didn't cheat for offence, and we earned that win. We play that game over and over again and we're going to win pretty much every time, so it was a good effort all around.

"We're a good defensive team, and we showed it tonight. Big blocks, good kills, great sticks everywhere and good breakouts. We were sharp in all three zones, so something to build off of for sure."