The Edmonton Oilers closed out the pre-season with a perfect record, defeating the Calgary Flames 4-1 at Rogers Place on Saturday to finish the exhibition schedule 4-0-0.
Zach Hyman opened the scoring on a power play just 23 seconds into Edmonton’s first man advantage of the night, converting a feed that went from Evan Bouchard to Connor McDavid before McDavid slid it across to Hyman, according to the Oilers’ own game recap on NHL.com. McDavid added a goal of his own in the second period, set up by Vasily Podkolzin and Leon Draisaitl, before Ryan Shea made it 3-0 later in the frame off a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Kasperi Kapanen capped the scoring with a third-period breakaway, also assisted by Nugent-Hopkins. Matt Coronato scored Calgary’s lone goal on a third-period power play.
Devon Levi made 23 saves for the win, extending his own preseason record to 4-0-0, a mirror of the team’s mark, according to the Oilers’ recap. Calgary’s Dustin Wolf stopped 24 of 28 shots in a losing cause, and robbed McDavid with a lunging, chest-high save on a second-period one-timer, according to the Flames’ recap of the game posted on NHL.com. Edmonton also came out fast, outshooting Calgary 7-0 through the game’s opening 13 minutes.
Edmonton 4, Calgary 1: shots on goal, Calgary 24, Edmonton 28. Levi made 23 saves on 24 shots; Wolf made 24 saves on 28 shots.
Kapanen finished with a goal and an assist and was named the game’s first star, per the Oilers’ recap. He had been moved up from Edmonton’s third line to skate alongside Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman for the exhibition finale, a pairing that could carry into the regular season with forward Matthew Savoie expected to miss the opening games, The Hockey Writers reported. Kapanen re-signed with Edmonton on a one-year, $2.6-million contract this past off-season, according to an NHL.com release in July.
The Oilers finished the pre-season unbeaten across four games, and The Hockey Writers reported it is believed to be the first time in franchise history Edmonton has completed a full exhibition slate without a loss. The team allowed just five goals in those four games, all against clubs that missed the 2025-26 playoffs, as new head coach Mike Babcock’s group worked through a new defensive structure.
“I feel pretty solid. The boys played super solid defensively,” Levi said after the win, according to NHL.com’s recap, adding he is still getting used to Edmonton’s systems.
The win came without forward Jason Dickinson, who is still working back from a re-aggravation of the broken foot that ended his 2025-26 season. Head coach Mike Babcock confirmed the injury and said Dickinson is not expected to be ready for opening night but “shouldn’t be out long-term,” according to The Hockey Writers. Dickinson took part in an optional skate on Friday, which the outlet described as an encouraging sign.
Edmonton opens the regular season Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place, the first half of a home-and-home that continues Oct. 1 in Vancouver, with puck drop at Rogers Place set for 8 p.m. MT, per The Hockey Writers’ report on the Oilers’ schedule. The Canucks finished their own pre-season winless in three tries before beating the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Saturday, with Jake DeBrusk recording a goal and two assists, according to NHL.com’s league-wide pre-season roundup.
Edmonton will need its top line to carry an early-season load without Dickinson and Savoie in the lineup, but Saturday’s win suggested the group’s structure, and Levi’s game, are further along than they were at the start of camp. The Oilers’ fourth line, built around depth forwards competing for jobs, was also a bright spot with speed and physical play through the exhibition schedule, The Hockey Writers noted.
