Connor McDavid Had Five Points, and the Oilers Still Gave Up Seven Goals

Connor McDavid produced a goal and four assists Thursday night. Leon Draisaitl scored twice. Evan Bouchard added three points. The Edmonton Oilers scored nine goals against the Vancouver Canucks—and still spent much of the third period trying to make sure they would win.

Edmonton escaped Rogers Arena with a 9–7 victory after leading 8–2 in the second period. It was a spectacular response to Tuesday’s 6–5 overtime loss to Vancouver, giving the Oilers a split of their opening two games. It also raised an uncomfortable question: How many goals does this team need before a game feels safe?

McDavid made the offense look unstoppable

For the first 40 minutes, Edmonton looked like it could score almost whenever it wanted. The Oilers led 4–0 after the first period and scored four more times in the second. McDavid set up Ryan Shea with a sharp pass on a rush, then scored himself after stealing a Vancouver power-play drop pass. Kasperi Kapanen added another short-handed goal just 34 seconds later to make it 8–2.

Draisaitl finished with two goals and an assist. Bouchard had a goal and two assists, giving him an NHL-record eight points by a defenseman through the first two games of a season. Vasily Podkolzin, playing on Edmonton’s top power-play unit with Zach Hyman out because of an upper-body injury, also contributed a goal and an assist.

McDavid’s five-point performance was the 15th of his NHL career. Only Wayne Gretzky has more such games in Oilers history. This was another reminder of the gap between McDavid and almost everyone else when he has room to skate and teammates finishing his passes.

A 9–7 final score, though, says the Oilers’ stars had to do more than put on a show. They had to protect a win that should have been settled.

An 8–2 lead became an 8–6 game

Vancouver scored with a fraction of a second left in the second period to cut the deficit to 8–3. Then Marco Rossi scored twice early in the third, and Elias Pettersson converted on the power play. Suddenly, a six-goal Edmonton lead was down to two with more than 12 minutes remaining.

Draisaitl answered on an Oilers power play, taking a McDavid pass and scoring the ninth goal that Edmonton unexpectedly needed. Jamie Oleksiak scored late for Vancouver to produce the 9–7 final. The Canucks deserved credit for continuing to attack but allowing a game to tighten that much after building an 8–2 lead is a problem Edmonton has to confront.

New Oilers goalie Devon Levi made 15 saves in his regular-season debut. Goaltending will draw scrutiny whenever a team allows seven, but this was a team-wide lapse after Edmonton had controlled the opening two periods. McDavid himself pointed to those first 40 minutes as the standard the Oilers need to repeat: hard work, responsible puck decisions and players tracking back.

That is a useful distinction. The Oilers do not need to apologize for their offensive talent. They need the habits that let that talent decide games without requiring nine goals.

Two games, 13 goals allowed

Edmonton has scored 14 goals in its first two games against Vancouver and allowed 13. The sample is tiny, and this was an unusually wild home-and-home series. It is far too early to declare the Oilers’ season in trouble. It is reasonable, however, to notice that McDavid’s brilliance has already been needed to overcome a great deal at the other end of the ice.

There were encouraging signs in Thursday’s win. Edmonton attacked turnovers aggressively, scored twice while short-handed and built its huge lead through contributions beyond McDavid and Draisaitl. Owen Michaels scored his first NHL goal, while Shea scored his first as an Oiler. That depth can make Edmonton dangerous against any opponent.

The third period showed the limit of relying on offense to cover every mistake. Against a stronger defensive team—or on a night when McDavid records one point instead of five—Edmonton cannot assume it will simply score again whenever its lead shrinks.

McDavid did what superstars are supposed to do Thursday. He created chances, scored a short-handed goal and set up the goal that steadied his team. The Oilers got their first win. The next step is making a five-point McDavid night feel like a comfortable victory instead of an escape.