3 major takeaways from Edmonton Oilers' 4-1 preseason loss vs Vancouver Canucks

The good news for the Edmonton Oilers is that the regular season is right around the corner, and they can attack it head-on as they attempt to make a second straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final while hoping for a better outcome.

The bad news is that they closed out their preseason by winning only three of eight games, with their final setback coming in the form of a 4-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Vancouver Canucks on Friday night.

The Canucks took a 3-0 lead over the Oilers thanks to a pair of first-period goals courtesy of captain Quinn Hughes and Carson Soucy, followed by a tally by Arshdeep Bains in the second period.

Edmonton managed to find the scoresheet thanks to Evan Bouchard in the second period, who beat goaltender Arturs Silovs with a quick wrist shot from the slot after his team won an offensive zone faceoff:

Vancouver successfully curbed all attempts by Edmonton at cutting further into their lead, which was capped off by Jake DeBrusk's goal into the vacated net with 1:55 remaining in regulation.

Here's a closer look at three major takeaways from the Oilers' 4-1 preseason loss to the Canucks on Friday.

3 major takeaways from Edmonton's 4-1 loss vs Vancouver

#1. Edmonton's newcomers are getting acclimated

The Oilers deployed a second line consisting of Leon Draisaitl paired with Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, who were brought aboard during the offseason.

Signed from the Los Angeles Kings, Arvidsson fired three shots on net and was denied a golden scoring opportunity by Silovs in the second period. Meanwhile, the speedy Skinner is banking on the 2024-25 campaign as finally being his first taste of playoff hockey.

#2. Oilers didn't bring the intensity of a regular season/playoff game

The Oilers, who are only a few months removed from an extremely difficult one-goal loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, can likely be excused if they weren't giving a 100% gutsy effort in the final tune-up game that means nothing in the standings.

However, they acknowledged that it's time to root out the bad habits considering that the games that start to matter get underway next week (via NHL.com):

"Obviously, it's preseason, but at the same time, this was our last test before the real thing," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "We're going to need to dial that up and focus on those little things a little more.

"A few games we could've defended a little bit better, but I think it was good just to kind of get our timing back, get our feet under us and find that chemistry again. I know we'll be prepared on Wednesday," he added.

#3. Goaltender Stuart Skinner wasn't at his best

Despite helping to backstop the Oilers to the Cup Final, Skinner's timing on Vancouver's goals, which he was between the pipes for, was suspect.

Goaltending is widely considered to be one of Edmonton's main obstacles in their way of a second straight deep postseason run, and Skinner's performance in the exhibition schedule wasn't exactly Grant Fuhr-esque.

The Edmonton Oilers open their regular season campaign against the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place on Wednesday.