Korpikoski lifts Oilers past Canucks in OT

McDavid had a slow start with one point in his first four games, but now has four points in his last two.

Bartkowski said after the game it felt good to get that first goal, and suggested a few days between games could be a good thing for the Canucks.

“We struggled the first four games”.

“It’s a break we needed”, said McLellan. “It’s fun when you have the puck, but not so much when you don’t”.

Lauri Korpikoski scored on a breakaway at 1:46 of overtime as the Oilers defeated the Canucks 2-1. “It kind of trickled through his five-hole”.

The Oilers were outshot 34-24 on the night, with Anders Nilsson stopping all but one of those.

“We probably deserved more” said Miller.

“That’s a tough one”, said Daniel. They’ve got goals in their last two games.

Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid is pictured during the warm-up prior to facing the Vancouver Canucks before their NHL hockey game in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday October 18, 2015. Both teams went back and forth in a game fraught with mistakes and misses that amounted to an entertaining meeting between two Pacific Division opponents. “These are the ones that add up later on in the season”. “(Saturday) night, I thought we were the better team. We’ve responded without wins.

Head coach Todd McLellan says he was “really pleased with the goaltending”.

At the other end of the rink, Ryan Miller, who is now 12-1 in games against the Oilers, made 22 saves. It was his first goal in 137 regular-season games.

Center Henrik Sedin had a breakaway, which a diving Nilsson stopped.

More notable was the wide open net that Daniel Sedin missed with the rebound. “We pre-scouted them, obviously”.

I mean, we’re six games into his career and McDavid isn’t even leading the league in scoring yet. Three minutes after the opening faceoff against the Canucks, he zipped up the left wing on a power play, slipped between Luca Sbisa and Jannik Hansen, and set up Nail Yakupov for the one-timer.

“With this guy, you just have to be ready all the time”. Vancouver C Jared McCann sat out due to an undisclosed injury sustained Friday in the Canucks’ 4-3 loss to St. Louis…. Sometimes there were nine Olympians on the ice and me, and I’m thinking: “‘I don’t belong here.’ But you always want to play against the best”.

The Canucks host the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Edmonton LW Matt Hendricks didn’t play due to an undisclosed injury.

McDavid began the season with powerful winger Taylor Hall, but since each first-overall pick loves to carry the puck, the combination failed miserably. Oilers D Andrew Ference and D Brandon Davidson were healthy scratches…. Then he returned to Edmonton and in his Oilers’ home debut went pointless in minus-three.