*Photo from AP News*
What a way to begin the season in British Columbia. JT Miller had a goal and 3 assists, Brock Boeser scored 4 goals, and the Vancouver Canucks pummeled the Edmonton Oilers with an 8-1 victory on Wednesday night in Vancouver.
The Canucks opened their season with a showcase on goal scoring, tallying 3 goals in both the second and 3rd periods to blow the Oilers out of the building. Miller and Elias Pettersson each had a goal and 3 assists for the Canucks, while Boeser tied the record for most goals in a season opener in team history.
Boeser said of his confidence "I'd say it's pretty high. I got to that mindset in the summer where I’ve got to be a better hockey player and really work hard. I came back and it continues every day. I’ve got to have that same mindset tomorrow, the next practice, the morning skate, I’ve got to keep it going."
Conor Garland got the Canucks on the board first. He gave them a 1-0 lead 8:06 into the first period, assisted by Pettersson and Noah Juulsen. A little over 3 minutes later, Boeser picked up his first goal of the night, doubling the lead to 2-0 at the 11:27 mark of the period. Miller and Phil Di Giuseppe assisted on the goal.
Boeser started the scoring in the second period, scoring to make it 3-0 Canucks. On the power play 7:30 into the period, Boeser completed the hat trick to make it 4-0. Leon Draisaitl got the Oilers on the board with a power play goal before Pettersson added a power play goal of his own, making it 5-1 with Miller and Quinn Hughes assisting.
At the 5:43 mark of the 3rd period, Boeser scored his 4th goal of the night to make it 6-1 Canucks. Miller scored a power play goal 1:13 after Boeser's 4th, making it 7-1 with Pettersson and Hughes assisting. Sam Lafferty and Nils Hoglander then assisted on a goal by Dakota Joshua to make it 8-1 Canucks.
Miller said after the game "We didn’t give them many opportunities today. It means a lot. I’ve been thinking about this game for a while. We knew this matchup was probably coming and when you go against the best in the world, it's very exciting and challenging."
Thatcher Demko was the opening night starter for the Canucks, helping to stymie the Oilers. He made 21 saves on 22 shots, playing only 48 minutes. He was then taken out due to illness and replaced by Casey DeSmith, who made 5 saves over the rest of the game.
Getting the start for the Oilers was Jack Campbell, who struggled through his first start of the season. Campbell allowed 4 goals on 16 shots, making 12 saves before he was taken out. Stuart Skinner came in and had an identical line as Campbell.
Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said of the loss that "We laid an egg tonight. We all own it. We're all in in this one together, and the bottom line is we were at a preseason level of work ethic and a preseason level of execution, all of us, and we got a lesson in regular-season work ethic and regular-season battle level and we were not good enough tonight to a man. Every single one of us."
The Canucks and Oilers face off again in Edmonton on Saturday. Demko is expected to start for the Canucks, with Skinner the projected starter for the Oilers.
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