SPORTS WITH HARP: Canucks fall to Oilers in first preseason home game

BY HARPREET PANDHER

Broadcaster on Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi and BC Lions Football Punjabi

IG/X/TikTok: @harppandher

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks were home for the first time this preseason Thursday night at Rogers Arena, but the result was not what they wanted.

After opening the preseason with losses in Seattle and Calgary, the Canucks were back on home ice with a lineup that looked much closer to their regular-season group. The first two preseason games featured what you could call the Canucks’ “B team,” with mostly AHL players and prospects. This time, there were plenty of familiar faces in the lineup.

Luke Schenn was back in a Canucks jersey for his third stint with the team. Jamie Oleksiak played his first game in a Canucks uniform, while Vancouver-area-born Brendan Gallagher also made his debut with the club.

The Canucks got off to a decent start, with Schenn and Oleksiak forming one of the defensive pairings. However, it was the Edmonton Oilers who opened the scoring at 16:02 of the first period.

The Canucks were hemmed into their own zone after a clearing attempt from Filip Hronek failed to get out. The puck eventually went off Oleksiak’s skate and landed right in front of Isaac Howard, who made no mistake.

Later in the period, Paul Cotter had a good scoring chance and drew a penalty, giving Vancouver its first power play of the night. The Canucks could not take advantage, and Edmonton took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Oilers added to their lead in the second period when Quinn Hutson scored after another puck went off Oleksiak’s skate and found its way into the net.

Vancouver finally got on the board at 13:59 of the second period. Linus Karlsson scored a power-play goal off a rebound to cut the Edmonton lead to 2-1.

That would be it for the Canucks offensively.

Zach Buium led Vancouver in ice time, playing more than 25 minutes, as the Canucks tried to find the equalizer. Nikita Tolopilo played the first 40 minutes in goal for Vancouver before Chris Driedger came in for the third period. Driedger is currently in camp on a professional tryout (PTO).

There was also some bad news on the injury front. Filip Chytil was injured after getting tangled up with the referee and going hard into the end boards. His shoulder appeared to take the brunt of the impact, and he was seen holding it while heading into the tunnel. Head coach Manny Malhotra said after the game that it appeared to be a shoulder injury.

For Edmonton, Tristan Jarry got the start. The pride of North Delta joined the Oilers last season in a trade with Pittsburgh for Stuart Skinner. After a difficult first season in Edmonton, Jarry is looking for a fresh start this year.

The Oilers are also beginning a new era behind the bench with Mike Babcock. It was Babcock’s first game back at Rogers Arena as Edmonton’s head coach. He coached Team Canada to Olympic gold at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

The Canucks now have one preseason game remaining. They will host the Seattle Kraken in their final tune up at Rogers Arena before the regular season begins.

Then comes the real deal.

The Canucks open the 2026-27 regular season on September 27 in Edmonton against the Oilers. Vancouver is in a rebuild, and there are not many expectations surrounding the team heading into the season. But Thursday night showed one thing clearly: even when the Canucks put a much stronger lineup on the ice, there is still plenty of work to do.