Oilers need to play defense against Canucks

The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks kicked off the 2026-27 season with a Bang. They scored a combined 27 goals in their season opening back-to-back series. It was exciting, fast paced with a goal every 4.4 minutes on average, but it wasn't what you'd call "sustainable" hockey. When a National Hockey League team allows six and seven goals against, they're not usually going to capture a win and an overtime loss most of the time.

Since those games, head coach Mike Babcock has had enough practice and playing time to tighten some defensive screws, implementing a game plan that still allows the Oilers stars, like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, to create offense but encompasses significantly more defensive responsibility at the same time. It seems to be working as well, with Edmonton sitting consistently at or near the top of the league standings.

Canucks are a trap game

That Canucks win in Game 1 of their season, only has two others keeping it company in the W column. The team's record sits at 3-14-1 and they're on track to have the best draft lottery odds once again. With Edmonton rolling through the rest of October, they've gotten almost four times as many points from wins, and overtime and shootout losses. The result seems like a foregone conclusion.

But those other scores in the first and second games of the season might suggest a matchup issue. A team like the Oilers, with the capability of putting half a dozen pucks in the net on most nights, can have a tendency to let things loosen up against lesser competition. Add the Oilers' current goaltending duo to that situation and you have a recipe for an upset.

The problem with a game where every second shot is in the back of the net is simple. The last shot might not be yours. That was the case in the 6-5 loss, and it was closer than it needed to be in the Oilers nine goal performance. A less exciting, but more certain, outing where the Oilers maybe only get three of four goals, but keep their opponent to one, or none, is a safer path toward victory.

The Oilers have very realistic chances of winning their division for the first time since the 1980s. These relatively easy wins need to be added to the pile so that when the Vegas Golden Knights have their inevitable late season surge, there's a buffer in place so that a short losing skid doesn't allow the gap to close.