On Wednesday night, the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Calgary Flames for the season opener, blowing a 3-0 lead and losing 4-3 in a shootout to begin the season 0-0-1. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.

The Oilers’ first goal of the season came midway through the first period on a power play. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the goal scorer, as he finished off a pretty passing play by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Edmonton Oilers

@EdmontonOilers

·Follow

Nuge season starts now 😌 #LetsGoOilers

Watch on X

2:41 AM · Oct 9, 2025

566

Read 12 replies

With just under four minutes remaining in the first period, the Oilers extended their lead to two. This time, it was former Flame Andrew Mangiapane scoring his first as an Oiler, as he won a key puck battle and eventually received the puck in the faceoff dot. He made no mistake beating Dustin Wolf for a 2-0 lead.

Edmonton Oilers

@EdmontonOilers

·Follow

Fresh Bread 🍞 #LetsGoOilers

Watch on X

2:54 AM · Oct 9, 2025

544

Read 16 replies

The Oilers were firing on all cylinders midway through the second period, taking a 3-0 lead thanks to Leon Draisaitl scoring from his office on the power play. This was his 400th career goal, while David Tomášek picked up his first NHL point.

Edmonton Oilers

@EdmontonOilers

·Follow

4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ burgers flipped 🍔 #LetsGoOilers

Watch on X

3:40 AM · Oct 9, 2025

532

Read 8 replies

Finally, the Flames showed signs of life with just over eight minutes left in the second period, as Matvei Gridin’s blind pass took an unfortunate bounce off Noah Philp and past Stuart Skinner. Just over two minutes later, Connor Zary knocked down a puck around the crossbar to cut the lead to one.

The Flames tied the game in the first minute of the third period, as a shot from centre ice wasn’t handled well by Stuart Skinner, allowing Blake Coleman to poke it home. There were no more goals in regulation, nor in overtime. In the end, the Flames won in the eighth round of the shootout.

Calgary Flames

@NHLFlames

·Follow

Pounced on it 😤

Watch on X

4:18 AM · Oct 9, 2025

161

Read 14 replies

Takeaways…

This was the first time in franchise history that the Oilers lost a season opener in overtime or a shootout. They’ve won a handful in a shootout and even tied some games when those were a thing, but this was their first defeat after regulation in a season opener.

It’s also the third consecutive season that the Oilers dropped the opener. While it wasn’t an 8-1 score like in 2023-24 or a 6-0 score like in 2024-25, they blew a 3-0 lead and didn’t look like the same team in the second half of the game. They took their foot off the gas, and they paid for it.

So far this season, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been involved in every single Oilers goal, scoring the first goal of the season before assisting on the Oilers’ other two goals. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had two points each, while Andrew Mangiapane scored his first goal as an Oiler and David Tomášek picked up his first point in the National Hockey League.

Tomášek was rather noticeable in his NHL debut, picking up an assist on a nifty pass. On the other hand, it was a quiet debut for Ike Howard, as he played just 10:43. Matthew Savoie had a rather quiet game as well.

It was a rough game for Stuart Skinner, allowing three goals on 22 shots for an .864 save percentage. There wasn’t much he could’ve done on the first goal, and the second Flames’ goal shouldn’t have counted, but the third goal was inexcusable. That said, he performed well in the shootout, saving six of eight shots.

The Oilers play their second game of the season on Saturday at 8:00 PM MT, as they host the Vancouver Canucks.

For more reaction check out Oilersnation After Dark: