EDMONTON, AB – We’re off and running.
Centre Noah Philp scored his first career NHL goal, while winger Andrew Mangiapane marked his 500th NHL game on Saturday night by scoring his second in as many games for the Edmonton Oilers in a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place on Hockey Night in Canada.
The Oilers doubled up the Canucks in shots by a 37-15 margin and finally broke the deadlock during the second period off a fast rush up ice from their second line of Philp, Kasperi Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin, seeing the Canmore product finish off the play for his first NHL goal to give his side the 1-0 lead.
Mangiapane lifted Edmonton into a two-goal lead during the final minute of the second period, intercepting a careless pass from Filip Chytil from the corner while playing four-on-four and firing his second goal in his second game wearing Blue & Orange past Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko to make it 2-0.
After Brock Boeser made it 2-1 early in the third period, forward Leon Draisaitl iced the victory with the Oilers shorthanded and the Canucks’ net empty by finishing into an empty net with a fantastic no-look backhand from the neutral zone that went in off the post for his second goal of the season.
Goaltender Calvin Pickard stopped 14 of 15 shots for the Oilers to secure the victory in his first start of the season.
The Oilers now hit the road for a lengthy five-game road trip starting on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.