Oilers and Canucks draw lessons from high-scoring season openers

Vancouver and Edmonton both came away with points, but neither team was satisfied after the first two games of their NHL seasonopening homeandhome series. The Canucks beat the Oilers 65 in overtime in Edmonton on Tuesday, before Edmonton responded with a 97 win in Vancouver on Thursday. The games featured frequent defensive breakdowns, plenty of offense and big performances from stars such as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. Oilers captain Connor McDavid said the team still has work to do defensively, while coach Mike Babcock said Edmonton learned it needs to sustain strong play for a full 60 minutes. On the Vancouver side, players and coach Manny Malhotra said the Canucks need more physical play, better puck battles and a stronger response when opponents build an early lead. Both teams said the series offered earlyseason lessons they can carry into the rest of the schedule.