Thatcher Demko made 40 saves as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 Monday night.
The Oilers’ record sinks to 2-8-1 as they continue to suffer through one of the worst starts in franchise history.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a worse start to a season in my career,” Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm said after the game.
The Oilers came out on fire, outshooting the Canucks 19-2 through the first 11 minutes of the period.
They grabbed the lead 6:42 into the game on an Ekholm power-play slapper. However, the Canucks replied with three goals in 3:22. The Canucks’ Quinn Hughes had his pass go on off Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais’ stick. Pius Suter and Brock Boeser would add goals by beating Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner with shots from the slot.
“We did a lot of good things in the first period and found ourselves down and chasing the game,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said.
Ekholm took a deep sigh when asked about opposing teams making a quick comeback.
“I think the last two, three games, we had great starts. For some reason we find ourselves in a deficit going into intermission.”
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl ended a seven-game goalless drought in the second. Dylan Holloway collided with Demko at the side of the net, allowing Warren Foegele to set up Draisaitl for a tap-in.
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Nils Hoglander replied for Vancouver by firing in a rebound off a two-on-one.
The Oilers briefly celebrated a goal off a scramble in the crease one minute into the third, but the officials went to video review and ruled that Foegele kicked the puck over the line.
J.T. Miller bombed in a power-play goal to make it 5-2 Canucks.
Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft was ejected from the game after yelling at a referee with 6:47 left.
“I asked about the play on Holloway,” Woodcroft said. “It wasn’t profanity-laced, it was a question. It wasn’t well-received when I asked the question.
“I’ve got to be better. I can’t take a penalty to put our team down.”
“He’s a passionate guy, like we all are. That happens,” McDavid said of Woodcroft’s ejection.
Boeser added a power-play goal in the final minute.
The Oilers will visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 7 p.m. The actual game starts at 8:30 p.m.
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