from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

What looked like an artful portrait for rookie Nils Hoglander turned into a much grander canvas for the Vancouver Canucks as they opened the 2020-21 NHL season with a 5-3 win Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers.

Hoglander, the just-turned-20 rookie who blew everyone away at training camp to make the Canucks, not only scored in his debut but made a handful of crafty, confident plays and looked capable of continuing the line of ascension into the NHL by highly gifted Vancouver prospects.

For two periods, Hoglander was one of the best Canucks and easily the best story.

But when the Canucks seized the game from the Oilers in the third period, Brock Boeser scored twice with laser wrist shots. Quinn Hughes set up one of the goals with a behind-the-back pass from his butt. Elias Pettersson sprung Boeser on other with a sublime cross-ice bank pass that was as much about geometry and physics as hockey. Both plays were all-world.

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Catch the game highlights below.