Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid contributed one goal and four assists in Thursday's 9-7 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, splitting their season-opening home-and-home series. Edmonton lost 6-5 in overtime to Vancouver in Tuesday's opener.

While the Oilers walked away with the victory, McDavid made no bones about the need for more consistent play from the team. Edmonton built an 8-2 advantage late in the second period before the Canucks scored four consecutive goals to cut the deficit to 8-6 in the third.

“No one is in here being, you know, ‘Way to go,'” said McDavid. “Obviously we understand the game has got to look a little bit different, but I thought, the first 40 (minutes) is what it could look like a lot of the time, and what it should look like a lot of the time. Guys working hard, tracking back, responsible with the puck, and just kind of rolling over them. That 40 minutes we have to replicate night in and night out.”

The captain's five-point performance also added several milestones to his record. It was the 15th five-point game of McDavid's NHL career, tying him for seventh-most in league history and moving him past Jari Kurri for second-most in Oilers history behind Wayne Gretzky, who has 79.

Article Continues Below

McDavid also became the third player in franchise history to record five assists through the first two games of a season, joining Leon Draisaitl in 2020-21 and Gretzky in 1987-88. Through two games this season, he has seven points, including one goal and six assists.

McDavid's goal came during a pivotal second-period sequence. He capitalized on a Vancouver power-play turnover at 7:49, skating around Elias Pettersson before scoring to make it 7-2. Kasperi Kapanen scored 34 seconds later on another short-handed breakaway, making the two goals Edmonton's fastest pair of short-handed goals since January 19, 2000.

Leon Draisaitl added two goals and an assist, including the power-play goal that stopped the Canucks' four-goal third-period rally and restored the Oilers' three-goal cushion.

Up next, Edmonton will host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.