The Edmonton Oilers lost their opening game against the Calgary Flames 3-4 after a penalty shootout after a 3-0 lead. Two scorer points each from Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were not enough.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the power play (10th), Andrew Mangiapane (17th) and Draisaitl on the power play (29th) with his 400th NHL goal in the 791st regular season game gave the Oilers a 3-0 lead at Rogers Place. Matvei Gridin (33rd), Connor Zary in the majority (35th) and Blake Coleman (41st) equalized.
In the penalty shootout, McDavid (2 assists) initially failed before Draisaitl (1 goal, 1 assist) put his attempt into goalie Dustin Wolf’s box. Morgan Frost equalized and Nazem Kadri made the decision with the 16th penalty.
The best Oilers scorer was Nugent-Hopkins with three points (1 goal, 2 assists). Wolf had 32 saves for Calgary, while his counterpart Stuart Skinner had 19.
Edmonton continues against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night (4 a.m.). The Flames have to play against the Canucks on Friday night (4 a.m.).
NHL: The games of the day
| Home | Away | Result |
| Edmonton Oilers | Calgary Flames | 3:4 SUN |
| Washington Capitals | Boston Bruins | 1:3 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Montreal Canadiens | 5:2 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Los Angeles Kings | 5:6 SUN |