Paul Cotter scored 1:59 into overtime to lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Tuesday. Cotter finished the night with two goals, including the game-winner on a backhand shot in extra time after Edmonton mounted a third-period comeback.
Vancouver took an initial lead at 9:51 of the first period when Cotter scored an unassisted shorthanded snap shot. Edmonton answered at 16:26 of the frame on an unassisted snap shot by Evan Bouchard. Marco Rossi put the Canucks back in front 2-1 at 2:07 of the second period with assists from Liam Ohgren and Filip Hronek. Bouchard responded again for the Oilers at 14:34, converting a snap shot off feeds from Connor McDavid and Alex Formenton to level the score heading into the second intermission.
The Canucks built a three-goal lead early in the third period. Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored on a snap shot 1:10 into the frame, followed by Max Sasson's backhand goal at 2:55. Elias Pettersson added a power-play tip-in goal at 5:15 to push Vancouver's advantage to 5-2. Edmonton rallied behind Vasily Podkolzin, who scored a snap shot at 8:56. Bouchard completed his hat trick just 24 seconds later with a wrist shot to make it 5-4. Podkolzin tied the game at 19:17 with a power-play snap shot, assisted by Leon Draisaitl and Bouchard, before Cotter won it in overtime with an assist from Sasson.
Kevin Lankinen earned the win in net for Vancouver, stopping 32 of 37 shots. Tristan Jarry took the overtime loss for Edmonton, making 17 saves on 23 shots. Vancouver converted on 1 of 2 power-play opportunities, while Edmonton scored on 1 of 4 chances with the man advantage.
Bouchard led all skaters with five points, recording three goals and two assists in the loss. The result pushed Vancouver to a 1-0-0 regular-season record, while Edmonton dropped to 0-0-1.
Both teams return to the ice on Tuesday, October 20. The Vancouver Canucks will host the Carolina Hurricanes, while the Edmonton Oilers will host the Minnesota Wild.
