Oilers fall in B.C.

Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks 2-3 (0-1, 1-1, 1-1 )

Edmonton opened their season against the team that eliminated them in game 7 of the first round in the playoffs last season. Neither team had undergone major changes, although new faces like Hall, Fowler and Plante featured in the Oilers lineup. Anton Babchuk was suspended for his misconduct in a pre-season game, thus Ladislav Smid drew in on the top pairing.

Even though they were heavily outshot, Vancouver gained the lead in the first and still held it at the first intermission. Oiler-killer Erhoff added to the problems early in the second and Edmonton were shaken by their opponents. When the Oilers finally got on the board, it was rookie Cam Fowler who tallied the goal - scoring his first NHL goal in his first NHL game! Despite a good effort, the Oilers were still unable to edge out in a close contest. Cam Fowler's third star performance, however, cheered head coach Constantine's spirits up: "He's been terrific in the pre-season, showing maturity and composure in all situations."

Scoring Summary 
1st period:
VAN - Burrows (White)

2nd period:
VAN - Erhoff (Kesler)
EDM - Fowler (Falardeau, Axelsson)

3rd period:
EDM - O'Sullivan (Laich, Penner) PP
VAN - Kesler (Fedotenko)

Lines:
Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Tangradi - Cogliano - O'Sullivan 
Moore - Laich - Hall
Axelsson - Falardeau - Brule

Smid - Visnovsky
Fowler - Gilbert
Yonkman - Plante


Khabibulin
(Hiller)