Paul Cotter scores in OT as the Canucks beat the Oilers 6-5 in the opener

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Paul Cotter scored 1:59 into overtime to cap a two-goal game as the Vancouver Canucks got the season off to a strong start with a 6-5 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.

>Marco Rossi, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Max Sasson and Elias Pettersson also scored for the Canucks, who are coming off a last-place finish in the NHL last season with a 25-49-8 record.

>Kevin Lankinen made 32 stops.

>Evan Bouchard had three goals and two assists and Vasily Podkolzin scored twice for the Oilers. Tristan Jarry made 17 saves for Edmonton.

>Entering the third period tied 2-2, Pettersson capped a three-goal run by the Canucks 5:15 into the frame to swiftly put the Canucks ahead 5-2.

>But Podkolzin scored at 8:56, followed by Bouchard’s third of the night 24 seconds later and Podkolzin’s second of the night with 43 seconds left in regulation to send it to extra time.

>Cotter, who joined Vancouver as a free agent after spending the last two seasons in New Jersey, became the first player in Canucks history to score a short-handed goal in his debut with the team.

>Bouchard is the first defenseman in Oilers history to record a multigoal game in a season opener and just the third defenseman in NHL history to score a hat trick in an opener. He is also just the third blue-liner in the last 30 years to have at least four points in a game to open the season.

>Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra became the fourth person to represent the Canucks as both a player and head coach in his career, following in the footsteps of Marc Crawford, Pat Quinn and Orland Kurtenbach.

Up nextCanucks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

>Oilers: At the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

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