McDavid Scores Hat Trick, Campbell Big Star as Oilers Win Opener

In Game 1 of the season for the Edmonton Oilers, the club rallied from 3-0 down and scored five unanswered goals in a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Goaltender Jack Campbell found his rhythm in the second period and made several key stops when Edmonton was looking for a spark that would kickstart their offense.

And get going their offense did. A missed high stick on Quinn Hughes by Evander Kane made for a power play goal to get the Oilers on the board. Then, with a hat trick on the night, Connor McDavid took over and became the 7th player to reach 700 points in fewer than 500 games played. He actually reached 701 with an empty netter and quickly made it clear he’s going to be gunning for 50 or 60 this season. Draisaitl wowed with his passing ability, Darnell Nurse was physical and special teams played a huge factor in the win as the Canucks had multiple power-play opportunities and couldn’t capitalize.

Hats off to our captain. ??? pic.twitter.com/7QXDrFRjwM

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 13, 2022

With his 700 points, he’s in great company: Wayne Gretzky (317), Mario Lemieux (363), Peter Stastny (457), Mike Bossy (469), and Jari Kurri (483). He also became the 3rd player in NHL history with multiple career hat tricks in season openers, joining: Cam Neely & Brendan Shanahan.

McDavid had a 3-1-4 night, and Leon Draisaitl had a 1-2-3 evening, but despite all that scoring, Campbell was the first star of the game.

McDavid dedicated the Oilers’ win tonight to the late Ben Stelter — a young boy who became the heartbeat of the Oilers’ playoff run last season but sadly passed away from cancer. While the start wasn’t what the Oilers wanted, it was a near-perfect evening to get things kicked off on the right foot. Their next game will take place on Saturday as the Oilers meet the Calgary Flames in a Battle of Alberta matchup.

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