Connor McDavid has a goal and four assists as the Oilers hang on to beat the Canucks 9-7

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Connor McDavid scored a goal and had four assists as the Edmonton Oilers built a six-goal lead and held on for a 9-7 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.

Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists for the Oilers to become the first defenseman in NHL history with eight points (four goals, four assists) in his first two games of the season. He had three goals and two assists in the Oilers' season-opening 6-5 loss to the Canucks on Tuesday night.

Edmonton got two goals and an assist from Leon Draisaitl, and one of each from Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen. Owen Michaels scored his first NHL goal and Ryan Shea scored his first in an Oilers’ uniform.

Devon Levi made his first NHL start since Jan. 20, 2025 when he was a member of the Buffalo Sabres, and stopped 15 shots.

Marco Rossi scored twice for the Canucks and had an assist, while Elias Pettersson had a goal and two assists. Paul Cotter, Brock Boeser, Arshdeep Bains, and Jamie Oleksiak each had a goal and an assist.

Kevin Lankinen made 13 saves before getting pulled midway through the second period. Leevi Merilainen — claimed off waivers on Friday — stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced in relief.

The Oilers took an 8-2 lead on a Canucks power play midway through the second frame when McDavid and Kapanen scored short-handed breakaway goals 34 seconds apart.

But the Canucks scored four straight to pull within 8-6 on Pettersson's power-play goal 7:37 into the third period.

Draisaitl ended the run with a power-play goal less than two minutes later.

The Oilers were missing top-six forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.

Canucks: Host the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Oilers: Host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Edmonton Oilers' Kasperi Kapanen (42) battles with Vancouver Canucks' Jamie Oleksiak (4) for the puck during second period NHL hockey action in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Alex Formenton (26) tries to get past Vancouver Canucks' Tom Willander (5) and Jamie Oleksiak (4) during second period NHL hockey action in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates after scoring goal against the Vancouver Canucks during second period NHL hockey action in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Jake DeBrusk (74) is stopped in close by Edmonton Oilers goalie Devon Levi (27) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Luke Schenn (2) tries to check Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) during second period NHL hockey action in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian airline captain who helped thwart an apparent attempt to crash a FlyDubai flight described Friday how he fought for his life in the minutes after his co-pilot stabbed him and the plane began a steep descent.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised video call that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save his passengers.

“I had so many wounds. I had fallen down,” he said from the hospital, his head bandaged and tubes in his nose, before breaking down as he recalled the attack.

“I was fighting for my life. At one point, I realized that if I didn’t get up … then passengers would lose their lives,” he told Modi.

Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, was seriously injured in Wednesday’s attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, witnesses and Israeli authorities said. He has been hailed as a hero, with world leaders saying he helped avert a disaster.

The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. FlyDubai said Wednesday that the jet was secured by on-duty crew members “who diverted and landed the aircraft safely.” A regional official said the crew members were pilots in training.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Modi told Machchhar his “courage, patience, and presence of mind” saved many lives.

Machchhar said his flying experience allowed him to sense the plane’s steep descent even after he was knocked down by the attacker.

“I have been flying planes for 17 years and serving as a captain for the last 11 years. I can sense exactly what is happening with the aircraft even with my eyes closed. When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting,” he said.

Machchhar said that during those difficult moments, he recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman, the monkey god, and traditionally recited as a prayer for strength and courage.

“Lord Hanuman gave me courage,” he told Modi.

Machchhar, who is married and has two children, has worked for FlyDubai for about four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before joining the airline, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet, an Indian low-cost carrier, where he served as a senior commander and line training captain. He logged more than 9,750 flying hours with SpiceJet.

Philip Kean, CEO of Mainland Air, the New Zealand flight school where Machchhar trained, said pilots are taught how to take over if a fellow crew member becomes incapacitated. But the training does not typically prepare them for a stabbing attack by a colleague, he told The Associated Press on Friday.

“I don’t think there’s much in the handbook for being stabbed,” Kean said.

“You’re friends and you’re flying together,” he said. “Nobody would expect … a person to have a go at you like that.”

Associated Press journalist Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

News media personnel film in the building where relatives of Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot for Flydubai, previously lived in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A teacher from Gurukul School of Art paints a portrait honoring Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot with FlyDubai, in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

This undated photo released on Israel's Foreign Ministry social media shows Indian Capt. Smit Machchhar in the cockpit of a plane in an unknown location. Machchhar was at the controls of a FlyDubai flight that was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Israel's Foreign Ministry via AP)