Boeser scores 4 goals, Canucks ease past Oilers in season opener

VANCOUVER -- Brock Boeser scored four goals for the first time in his NHL career, and the Vancouver Canucks opened the season with a 8-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena on Wednesday.

His four goals tied a record for the most by a Canucks player in a season opener (Greg Adams on Oct. 8, 1987; Rick Blight on Oct. 6, 1976). Boeser didn’t score in the first 11 games last season and finished with 18 goals, the second-fewest of his NHL career.

“I’d say it’s pretty high,” Boeser said of his confidence. “I got to that mindset in the summer where I’ve got to be a better hockey player and really work hard. I came back and it continues every day. I’ve got to have that same mindset tomorrow, the next practice, the morning skate, I’ve got to keep it going.”

J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson each had a goal and three assists, and Quinn Hughes had three assists for the Canucks (1-0-0).

“It was great, not just me personally, but the whole team,” Boeser said.

Thatcher Demko made 21 saves before being replaced by Casey DeSmith (five saves) with 11:46 left in the third period. Vancouver coach Rick Tochett said Demko was suffering from a flu bug going through the team.

“He started feeling dehydrated,” Tocchet said. “He didn’t want to come out but when he [vomited] in his mask I said, ‘You’ve got to come out.’”

Leon Draisaitl scored, and Jack Campbell was pulled in the second period after giving up four goals on 16 shots for the Oilers (0-1-0). Stuart Skinner made 12 saves.

“We laid an egg tonight. We all own it,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “We're all in in this one together, and the bottom line is we were at a preseason level of work ethic and a preseason level of execution, all of us, and we got a lesson in regular-season work ethic and regular-season battle level and we were not good enough tonight to a man. Every single one of us.”

Conor Garland gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 8:06 of the first period, finishing a give-and-go with Pettersson off the rush with a quick deke alone in tight.

Boeser made it 2-0 at 11:27 with a wrist shot over Campbell’s glove from the left slot. He scored again to make it 3-0 at 4:03 of the second period by batting a loose puck out of the air after Campbell made a tough rebound save off Miller.

Boeser made it 4-0 on the power play at 7:30 for his fourth career hat trick, and first since Oct. 30, 2019, after Pettersson’s cross-ice pass hit his leg in the slot and went in under Campbell’s pad.

“Not sure how to explain that start to your season,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who had one assist and was minus-3. “We obviously want to learn from it. We want to see where things went wrong and learn from it and get ready to go again. We play Saturday (against the Canucks), excited to play at home, excited to play these guys again, another opportunity to redeem ourselves.”

Skinner replaced Campbell after the goal.

“We're trying to stem the tide a little bit, change momentum,” Woodcroft said. “It didn't work. We didn't get much better.”

Draisaitl scored on a sharp-angled one-timer on the power play 50 seconds later at 8:20 to make it 4-1, but Vancouver restored the four-goal lead on the power play when Pettersson used Boeser as a screen to make it 5-1 at 11:08.

Boeser tapped his fourth goal into an open net at 5:43 of the third after a shot hit Miller in the slot and bounced to him on the backdoor to make it 6-1.

Miller scored on the power play at 6:56 to make it 7-1, and Dakota Joshua converted a 2-on-1 at 14:48 for the 8-1 final.

"We didn’t give them many opportunities today,” Miller said. "It means a lot. I’ve been thinking about this game for a while. We knew this matchup was probably coming and when you go against the best in the world (McDavid and Draisaitl), it’s very exciting and challenging."

NOTES: Vancouver’s eight goals tied a team record for a season opener (Oct. 8, 1987; Oct. 11, 1978). … Neither Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy nor forward Teddy Blueger played despite skating before practice Wednesday morning. Each is considered day to day. … Oilers forward Dylan Holloway left midway through the third period after blocking a shot. Woodcroft did not have an update. … Draisaitl extended his point streak against the Canucks to 19 games and 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists). … Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm (hip flexor) did not play despite practicing for the past three days. He is day to day.