Oilers continue strong start to NHL season

EDMONTON – It was a battle of the NHL’s big guns, and the Edmonton Oilers’ hotshots ended up making the most noise at the end.

Evan Bouchard scored the overtime winner in a 4-3 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Tuesday as the Oilers (7-1-1) continued their strong start to the season.

The game was a matchup of the league’s top goal scorer, Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov, versus top point producer Connor McDavid.

With the Wild serving a too-many-men penalty in overtime, Bouchard scored his seventh goal of the season with a bomb of a shot with 1:28 remaining in overtime.

The Wild battled back from a 3-1 deficit after two periods. Bouchard produced the OT winner on his 27th birthday.

“You take what they give you. At that point in time, it was that shot,” Bouchard said.

“They pressed hard, they’re a good hockey team, they weren’t going to quit. There are definitely some things to clean up, but in the end we battled and got the win we needed.

“Good teams find a way to win, and we did that tonight against a very good opposition.”

He led all NHL defencemen in goals (seven) and assists (11).

“Any type of shot that (Bouchard) gets off is extremely dangerous,” said Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who earned his 75th multi-point game with two goals.

“Accurate, hard, whatever it is, you name it, he’s got it. He’s pretty elite.”

Bouchard was tied for second overall in league scoring with Toronto’s Auston Matthews behind teammate McDavid, whose three assists gave him 26 points in nine games.

Mathieu Joseph also scored for the Oilers who won their second straight and the seventh of their last eight. Edmonton’s goalie Devon Levi stopped 27 shots for the win.

The Oilers picked up Levi from the Buffalo Sabres for a third-round pick in the summer. The 24-year-old from Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Que., played 39 games over four seasons for Buffalo, but spent all of last season in the AHL.

He blossomed in the early running with Edmonton as Levi improved to 5-1-0.

“He’s ultra-competitive,” Oilers head coach Mike Babcock said. “What I like about Levi every day I walk in here, he’s got a smile on his face, he’s always working out, he’s always working, he’s competitive as can be, he feels good about himself.

“When you meet his mom and dad, you can see why. He just seems like a great kid. Five and one, I mean, not a bad record. Good for him.”

Levi said he’s just trying to stay loose and enjoy being given a legitimate shot in the NHL.

“I know what I’m capable of,” he said. “I didn’t really come in here and try to prove anything. At this point of my development, I kind of know who I am and I just wanted to come in and have fun and play with the best players in the world and come into an amazing environment and enjoy myself.

“It’s such a pleasure to be here. Not putting that extreme stress of trying to win the Cup on day one or win the starting position on day one, but just enjoy it and have fun being a pro hockey player in a franchise that is historic.”

McDavid extended his season-opening streak to all nine games.

The Oilers captain became just the sixth player in NHL history with 25 points before their 10th game in a season.

Also achieving the feat — Mario Lemieux (three times, most 33), Mike Bossy (28) Wayne Gretzky (twice; most 27), Brent Sutter (25) and Marcel Dionne (25).

McDavid was already on pace for his 10th career 100-point season. He also became the fastest player in NHL history to reach the 20-assist mark.

Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman replied for the Wild (6-2-2) who arrived in Edmonton riding two straight wins. Kaprizov scored his league-leading 11th goal in the game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.