The Edmonton Oilers continued their winning ways in the 2025 NHL preseason, improving their record to 4-1-1 with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place on Sunday (Sept. 28).
Leon Draisaitl scored twice while Trent Frederic and Connor McDavid also tallied for Edmonton. The Canucks got goals from Braeden Cootes, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and Aatu Raty.
Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 25 of 28 shots in a winning effort, outdueling Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko, who allowed four goals on 24 shots.
Edmonton built up a 3-0 lead through 40 minutes before holding off a third-period rally from the Canucks to pick up its second home win of the preseason.
Oilers Stars Lead the Way
The story through Edmonton’s first five preseason games has largely been the play of its prospects, several of whom have made a great account of themselves as they look to impress Oilers coaches and management. On Sunday, however, it was the big guns leading the way, as the three members of the Oilers’ top line – Draisaitl, McDavid and Frederic – accounted for all of Edmonton’s goals.
Draisaitl, in particular, had a monster game, picking up two assists to go with his pair of goals as he factored in all the Oilers’ scoring. The German’s goal midway through the third period would prove to be the game-winner.
McDavid also had two assists to finish the game with three points, while Frederic recorded an assist in addition to potting a first period goal.
Top Line Could Be Forming
This was only the second appearance of the 2025 preseason for both Draisaitl and McDavid, and they have now played together in both games, along with Frederic, which is creating speculation about the trio as a possible line to start the season, especially with McDavid’s regular right winger Zach Hyman still recovering from offseason surgery.
Draisaitl and McDavid, of course, know how to play with each other as well as anyone else on the planet. But the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Frederic, who’s played a total of only 23 regular season and playoff games with the Oilers since being acquired via trade last March, obviously lacks experience skating with either member of the Dynamic Duo.
“…Freddie’s got to be able to get them the puck, be able to make a play once in a while, and then just obviously be around the net to just cause some chaos, and tonight I thought he did a lot of those things,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said during his post-game media availability.
Quiet Night for Prospects
With the preseason getting closer to its conclusion, only limited time remains for players fighting to earn a roster spot. To this point, Edmonton’s prospects had taken full advantage of their opportunities, but to a man, they were relatively quiet on Sunday.
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None of the players on the bubble picked up a point against the Canucks. Ike Howard was minus-2, but did have a pair of shots on goal. Forwards David Tomasek and Noah Philp were both held without a shot, although the latter dished out a team-high six hits as had another solid showing in the faceoff dot, winning eight of his 15 draws.
Centre Matthew Savoie, who is pretty much a lock to make the roster, had the night off. The 21-year-old had suited up for three games over the first week of the preseason schedule.
Skinner Looks Stronger
Skinner was working on a shutout until Raty and Cootes scored 43 seconds apart early in the third period as Vancouver cut the Oilers’ 3-0 lead to a one-goal deficit. Lekkerimaki’s goal came on a one-timer with 3:08 remaining while Demko was pulled for the extra attacker.
Skinner can’t really be faulted for any of the goals: he was screened on the first, the second went off the skate of Oilers blueliner Mattias Ekholm, and the third was just a great shot. Overall, Skinner definitely played better than in his preseason debut on Wednesday (Sept. 24) when the 26-year-old was beaten three times on just 18 shots in a 4-1 home loss to the Seattle Kraken. But of Edmonton’s two returning veteran goalies, Calvin Pickard (zero goals against and 29 saves in 93:10 this preseason) is the one that appears to be in midseason form.
With just two games remaining on Edmonton’s preseason schedule, there’s a very good chance Pickard and Skinner each start once. The Oilers return to action when they visit the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday (Oct. 1).
