A strange scoring decision became one of the talking points from the Vancouver Canucks’ dramatic season opener against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, after goaltender Kevin Lankinen appeared to help create Paul Cotter’s shorthanded goal â but received no assist on the play.
Vancouver eventually escaped Rogers Place with a wild 6-5 overtime victory, but Cotter’s first-period goal produced a debate that continued after the final horn.
PAUL COTTER đł
— NHL (@NHL) September 30, 2026
His first with the @Canucks gives them a 1-0 lead here in the first period! #NHLFaceOff
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The play began nowhere near Edmonton’s net.
With the Canucks shorthanded, Lankinen stopped an Oilers attempt at one end of the ice. Vancouver quickly moved in the opposite direction, with the puck reaching Cotter, who attacked Edmonton’s net and fired home the opening goal at 9:51 of the first period.
It looked like exactly the sort of sequence in which a goaltender can occasionally pick up a rare offensive point.
Instead, the official scoring credited Cotter with an unassisted shorthanded goal.
Canucks fans immediately asked: Where was Lankinen’s assist?
The decision caught the attention of fans watching the sequence back online.
“Lankinen should get an assist.”
That reaction appeared in a discussion of Cotter’s opening goal, while another widely circulated reaction to the clip asked:
“Kevin Lankinen should get a primary assist for this goal, no?”
The confusion is understandable. Lankinen’s save helped start the movement that eventually sent Cotter toward the Edmonton goal, and clips of the play were quickly described by hockey fans as a save at one end leading directly to a goal at the other.
But whether Lankinen actually qualifies for the assist comes down to more than simply identifying who started the sequence.
Under NHL scoring rules, assists are awarded to the last player or players on the scoring team who touch the puck before the goal, provided the opposing team does not gain possession or control in between.
That makes the crucial part of the sequence what happened between Lankinen’s save and Cotter gaining control.
If an Edmonton player gained possession before Vancouver recovered the puck, Lankinen would not be eligible for the assist. If the Oilers’ involvement amounted only to a deflection or unsuccessful touch, however, the discussion becomes much more interesting.
For now, the official scoring remains clear: Cotter’s goal is listed as unassisted.
It is also worth noting that this is technically a scoring decision rather than an on-ice referee call. The NHL’s official scorer determines goals and assists, and scoring decisions can sometimes be reviewed and corrected after a game.
Cotter’s goal started a chaotic 6-5 Canucks win
The disputed assist was only the beginning of a remarkable opening night.
Cotter gave Vancouver a 1-0 advantage before Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard tied the game later in the first period. Marco Rossi restored Vancouver’s lead early in the second, only for Bouchard to score again and send the teams into the third tied 2-2.
Then the game briefly looked as though it had broken Vancouver’s way.
Jonathan LekkerimÀki scored just 1:10 into the third period. Max Sasson followed at 2:55, and Elias Pettersson converted on the power play at 5:15.
In barely four minutes, a 2-2 game had become a 5-2 Canucks lead.
Edmonton refused to disappear, though, erasing the three-goal deficit and forcing overtime before Vancouver finally secured the 6-5 victory.
The result was particularly striking considering Edmonton controlled much of the shot volume. Game tracking showed the Oilers finishing with 36 shots to Vancouver’s 23, while Vancouver blocked 21 attempts.
The full scoring sequence and game statistics were tracked in the post-game discussion.
The matchup also marked the start of the 2026-27 NHL season for both clubs and the first of a home-and-home series. According to the Oilers’ official schedule announcement, the teams meet again on October 1 in Vancouver.
For Vancouver, it was also the first regular-season game under head coach Manny Malhotra. The NHL’s opening-night preview had Lankinen starting in goal and Cotter skating alongside Arshdeep Bains and Brendan Gallagher.
Cotter could hardly have scripted a more noticeable introduction: Vancouver’s first goal of the season, scored shorthanded in Edmonton, followed later by another huge moment in a game that required overtime.
For Lankinen, however, the play created a much stranger opening-night footnote.
He made the save that helped launch Vancouver in the other direction, watched Cotter finish the rush â and then checked the scoresheet to find no offensive point beside his name.
Whether that scoring decision is eventually changed remains to be seen. Until then, the official record will continue to say Paul Cotter â unassisted, even if plenty of Canucks fans saw the sequence differently.
It was another example of how one unusual moment can create almost as much discussion as the result itself, similar to the reaction surrounding Raoni Barcelos’ frightening UFC Vegas 121 finish and the immediate questions that followed.
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