The Edmonton Oilers were heading into the 2025-26 with a sense of calm. That might surprise some, considering the team was coming off two consecutive Finals losses. Still, the team approached a new season relaxed.
Perhaps they were too relaxed, at least after getting out to a 3-0 lead.
As expected, the narrative is one game at a time. Having said that, the Oilers are often guilty of not playing a full 60 minutes, and they were guilty of it again on Wednesday as their three-goal lead turned into a 3-3 tie, then a loss in a shootout.
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The Stanley Cup isn’t won in October. Still, a hot start is also being talked about a lot inside the dressing room, and that should have started with a victory over the Calgary Flames in Game 1 of the regular season.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner took responsibility for the score being what it was. “I just had to make a quicker decision,” he said when trying to explain the gaffe on the third goal for Calgary that tied the game. “The game happens fast down there, and there was just kind of a miscommunication and I was slow to react…
Head coach Kris Knoblauch wasn’t ready to blame Skinner alone. “Turnovers,” he said when asked what happened. “As soon as we made it 3-0, we got really sloppy with the puck. Before that, I thought we were outstanding with it. That was the turning point right there.”
The Game Action
Ike Howard and David Tomasek took their “rookie” laps, seeing as it was the first game in the NHL for both players.
The first period started a bit slowly, with both sides feeling each other out. It wasn’t until a delay of game penalty on Morgan Frost that things got interesting. The Oilers made quick work of the power play as Connor McDavid passed down low to Leon Draisaitl, who hit Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in front for the goal.
Tomasek took a minor for tripping at 11:04. The Oilers killed it off, with McDavid and Draisaitl getting some time on the second penalty-killing unit.
On the Oilers’ second goal, Andrew Mangiapane made an outstanding play as he got tangled up near the blue line. He did a great job staying onside, and McDavid got him with a pass, and he roofed a wrist shot past Dustin Wolf.
McDavid already had two points on the night. Nugent-Hopkins got the second assist, giving him two points in the first.
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The second started much like the first, a little slowly. Things picked up around five minutes in. Skinner made a couple of solid saves, and Noah Philp got a solid chance on goal.
The Oilers started buzzing and the top line hemmed Calgary in, forcing them to take a penalty. Adam Klapka got two minutes for hooking.
The Oilers scored on the power play again, this time it was Nugent-Hopkins to Tomasek who made a sweet pass between Wolf’s legs and right to Draisaitl. With that, it was a 3-0 lead and the game looked in hand for the Oilers.
With the goal, Draisaitl had potted his 400th in the NHL.
The Flames got on the board as Matvei Gridin spun and fired a puck it into the slot. It bounced off Philp and got past Skinner.
On the second Flames goal, Tomasek got called for a high-sticking penalty. The Flames didn’t take long to score on the power play, getting a goal off a questionable Connor Zary high stick. The officials reviewed the goal and determined that it was a good goal.
Just like that the lead was cut to 3-2.
In the third period, Skinner misplayed a dump-in and got his signals crossed with Evan Bouchard. Blake Coleman got credit for the goal, and it was 3-3.
Regulation ended at three goals each. In overtime, there were no goals, but some interesting opportunities. Ultimately, the game went into a shootout that took eight rounds to declare a winner. Nazem Kadri scored to give Calgary a 4-3 win.
The Notables for the Oilers:
- Dustin Wolf was excellent for the Flames in goal.
- Andrew Mangiapane scored his first as an Oiler and the shot was incredible.
- Tomasek had a pretty assist on the power play goal by Draisaitl, who had his 400th point. Draisaitl’s shootout goal was one of the prettiest we’ll see this season.
- Stuart Skinner flubbed the third goal, but he was solid otherwise
- The Trent Frederic experiment on the top line may not have a long shelf life. It was a great mix in one preseason game, but the trio has struggled a bit beyond that. Frederic was pulled off that line late in the game, with Mangiapane getting a bump up.
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