Leon Draisaitl broke a 1-1 tie with 2:27 left in the third period and Connor McDavid sealed it with an empty-net goal as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Saturday at Rogers Place.
Owen Michaels also scored for Edmonton (2-0-1), which has won two straight since dropping its season opener in overtime. Devon Levi made 19 saves on 20 shots and was named the game’s first star, according to NHL.com. Bobby McMann scored on the power play for the Kraken (1-1-0), and Philipp Grubauer stopped 22 of 24 shots.
The winner came off a lucky bounce. A puck rimmed along the far boards caromed off McDavid’s knee and landed on Draisaitl’s stick in front, and the German centre buried it for his third goal of the season, according to The Canadian Press and Pacific North Hockey. McDavid and defenceman Ryan Shea were credited with the assists.
With Grubauer pulled for an extra attacker, McDavid hit the empty net with 1:05 left, set up by Vasily Podkolzin. The captain finished with a goal and an assist in 26:17 of ice time and now has nine points through three games, The Canadian Press reported.
Michaels opened the scoring 2:51 into the first period, finding a small opening over Grubauer’s shoulder off a feed from Alex Formenton. It was the second goal in three NHL games for the 24-year-old undrafted forward from Michigan, who helped Western Michigan win its first national championship in 2025, according to CP.
The opening period had an edge to it. Kraken defenceman Ryan Lindgren and Oilers forward Trent Frederic dropped the gloves, and Seattle was shorthanded three times in the first 20 minutes, Pacific North Hockey reported. Edmonton could not cash in on any of those chances, and Grubauer kept the Kraken within one.
Seattle drew even at 9:06 of the second period. With the Kraken on the power play, McMann finished a play from Jordan Eberle and Chandler Stephenson to make it 1-1. CP noted McMann has 11 goals in 20 games since joining Seattle last season.
From there, the goaltenders took over. Grubauer made a blocker save on Draisaitl in the second period and several key stops while Seattle was killing penalties, while Levi allowed only the power-play goal on a night the Oilers outshot Seattle 25-20, according to NHL.com.
The win kept a familiar trend going. Edmonton is now 15-4-1 all-time against Seattle and 8-1-0 at home against the Kraken, with seven straight home wins in the matchup, The Canadian Press reported.
Score: Oilers 3, Kraken 1. Shots: Edmonton 25, Seattle 20. Goalies: Levi (EDM) 19 saves; Grubauer (SEA) 22 saves.
What’s next: The Oilers visit the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday (8 p.m. MT) at Honda Center, a rematch of last spring’s first-round series, according to CP. The Kraken host the Calgary Flames in their home opener on Sunday.
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Sources: NHL.com game centre; The Canadian Press via paNOW; Pacific North Hockey. Featured image: Leon Draisaitl in a 2019 file photo, not from Saturday’s game. Photo: Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
