Canucks stun Oilers 6‑5 in overtime on opening night

The rebuilding Canucks earned a chaotic overtime victory over the Oilers, prompting fan memes about a premature Stanley Cup parade.

By Felo News Desk · Published Thu, 01 Oct 2026 22:41:13 GMT

Vancouver defeated Edmonton 6‑5 in overtime on Tuesday, October 1, 2026, in the NHL’s opening‑night clash, according to Daily Hive reports.

What happened

The game went to overtime after the Oilers and Canucks exchanged leads throughout regulation. Paul Cotter scored two goals, including the overtime winner, while newcomers Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Marco Rossi and Max Sasson also recorded points. Elias Pettersson netted his first goal of the season, and goaltender Kevin Lankinen made key saves in the final minutes.

What the reports add

The Canucks entered the season after posting the league‑worst home record in 2025‑26 (9‑27‑5), five fewer wins than the next‑worst team.
Malhotra explained the significance of the home opener, saying the crowd “is a big boost for the guys.”
He noted the need to improve “draws” and edge‑battle work, adding that “centres will have a better sense of their timing, and we’ll need to dig in there. It’s not just on our centres — our wings need to do a much better job of coming up with loose pucks and winning those edge battles.”
The coaching staff kept the same lines from Tuesday’s win for Thursday’s morning skate, listing the projected lines:
Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Liam Öhgren – Marco Rossi – Brock Boeser
Drew O’Connor – Max Sasson – Linus Karlsson
Arshdeep Bains – Paul Cotter – Brendan Gallagher
Zeev Buium – Filip Hronek – Jamie Oleksiak
Tom Willander – Luke Schenn – Kevin Lankinen
Malhotra announced a “whopping six alternate captains” for the season, saying the expanded leadership “empowers more guys within our room to have a voice” and that the new “A’s are the type of guys that lead by example and do all the things that we’re preaching to our group.”
Fans reacted on social media with jokes about a Stanley Cup parade, debating whether it should run down Robson or Georgia streets, and posting memes such as “With the rebuild firmly over, we need to ask if the Stanley Cup parade should go down Robson or Georgia?” and “OUR FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON WAS A SHORTHANDED GOAL!? … plan the parade.”

What was said

“The excitement of being back in front of our home crowd for the home opener is a big boost for the guys,” Manny Malhotra told Daily Hive.

“Obviously, it’s nice to sleep in our own beds and have just a normal game‑day preparation.”

“It’s obviously good to come off a win and be able to critique your game after a win,” Malhotra said.

“Collectively, we can be better on draws,” Malhotra added.

“The idea behind our leadership group is to empower more guys within our room to have a voice,” he said.

How it came about

The Canucks entered the season after posting the league‑worst home record in 2025‑26, prompting a revamp of coaching and roster strategy. Their home opener follows the Oilers’ preseason changes detailed in Felo’s September 20 article, which covered new head coach Mike Babcock’s system and the addition of Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard as assistant captains.