Excited Levi shines in return to Oilers’ net, beat Canucks 4-2

EDMONTON — Goalie Devon Levi was pretty jazzed to be back in Edmonton’s lineup, and the Oilers felt much the same after enduring a bit of a crease carousel.

Levi returned from injury to record 20 saves and improve to 7-1-0 in the Edmonton net this season, as the Oilers came away with a 4-2 victory over the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist and Connor McDavid had three assists, while Mattias Ekholm and Jason Dickinson also scored for the Oilers (12-3-3) who snapped a two-game losing skid.

The Oilers were down to fourth-string goalie Matt Tomkins and had Brett Epp, one of the NHL’s new full-time emergency backup goaltenders in their previous game, a 5-4 loss to Anaheim. Tristan Jarry has been ill and both Levi and Frederik Andersen were injured.

However, Levi returned after missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury while Jarry also returned to serve as backup.

“It was a tight game,” Levi said. “I love playing those games, going into the third period (tied) 1-1, knowing that I’m probably going to have to come up with one or two (big saves). Love it, man. So it was a fun game.”

The 24-year-old goalie last played in a thrilling 6-5 shootout win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 22 and knew something was wrong late in the game, but didn’t want to leave the contest.

“Third period, just tweaked something,” Levi said. “Pushed through it. I wasn’t going to get out of that game unless I was dead. So, it was a sick game to play. It was awesome playing against one of the best teams in the league, Stanley Cup champs last year. Loved the shootout, love overtime. You got to tear me off that ice.”

The Oilers acquired Levi — who spent last season in the AHL — from the Buffalo Sabres during the off-season for a third-round pick and he has been a solid addition.

“He’s got all the characteristics of a gamer,” Dickinson said. “He fights hard, he battles hard, he’s been itching to get back. It’s definitely good for us to have him.

“He loves to be around it, he loves to compete and battle. Those are the guys you want to rally around, the guys who put in that extra work and come every day.”

Oilers coach Mike Babcock said Levi has been a breath of fresh air.

“He’s got a smile on his face every time you see him. He works really hard and his personality is infectious,” Babcock said.

McDavid extended his season-starting points and assists streak to 18 games. He now leads the league with 10 goals, 37 assists and 47 points. Meanwhile, Evan Bouchard extended his points streak to six games and both he and Draisaitl have points in 16 of 18 games. Draisaitl has 34 points, while defenceman Bouchard is also near the top of the league point leaders with 31.

McDavid matched Adam Oates for the second-longest assist streak in NHL history behind only Wayne Gretzky’s 23 games set in 1990-91. McDavid also became the sixth player in NHL history with a season-opening 18-game point streak. The Oilers captain also recorded his 233rd career multi-assist game and passed Joe Sakic into 12th place in that category.

Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins left the game early in the second after taking a puck in the face from teammate Ryan Shea and did not return.

The Oilers are 10-0-2 when they score first this season.

Max Sasson and Brock Boeser replied for the Canucks (3-15-1) who have lost five straight and 15 of their last 16.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2026.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press