Oilers Extinguish Flames in 3-2 Win

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames in a nail-biting 3-2 game on Friday night. Edmonton had to overcome 1-0 and 2-1 deficits before taking home the victory. Mike Smith was sharp when he needed to be and Connor McDavid got the third-period game-winner!

I got the lowdown on the big win!

First Period:

The Oilers looked a lot better off the hop compared to Tuesday’s contest against the Canadiens. McDavid in particular was his usual speedy self, but it was Jacob Markstrom that was the difference early on.

Edmonton had the early jump on the Flames and had a few good chances in low. Leon Draisaitl had the best chance as he just missed on a point-blank shot in front. The team did get a chance on the PP but wasn’t able to convert.

Those missed chances would cost Edmonton. A Michael Stone slapshot from the point beat Smith over the shoulder. 1-0 Calgary.

Despite a good start to the game, the Oilers found themselves down a goal after 20.

Second Period:

Edmonton started this period with a bang. The Oilers went to work on a PP after Chris Tanev got caught on a trip. A nice tic-tac-toe chance rebounded onto the stick of Nugent-Hopkins and he backhanded the equalizer. We had a 1-1 game.

That wouldn’t last as Matthew Tkachuk restored Calgary’s lead. He was sprung on a breakaway after leaving the penalty box and went to the backend to make it 2-1 Flames.

The Oilers did respond with another equalizer later in the period as Yamamoto made a nifty pass in front of the net Kahun who jammed it into the open net. Once again we had a tie game. 2-2.

The Flames made a serious push late in the period. Lindholm nearly gave the Flames their third lead of the game but he missed on a wide-open net. It was tense right down to the buzzer but we entered the third period at a stalemate.

Third Period:

Special teams proved to an important part of this period as well. Once again, the Oilers were awarded an early PP chance and they didn’t waste any time. Draisaitl won the draw to McDavid who immediately sent a shot on to Markstrom that trickled into the net. Just like that the Oilers held their first lead; 3-2 EDM.

Calgary mounted a late-game push in the final minutes but it wouldn’t matter. The Oilers would hold down the fort and get back into the win column!

Final score: EDM 3 — CGY 2

Takeaways:

• Edmonton looked much better tonight as compared to their 4-0 loss against Montreal on Tuesday. They were moving their legs and generating plenty of chances. I thought Connor McDavid had a fantastic game..he was all over the ice and looked like the McDavid we all know and love...Getting the game-winner doesn’t hurt as well.
• Mike Smith...still playing good. If you listen to our weekly podcast you will know that I am waiting for him to regress but he just isn’t doing it. I’ll gladly eat crow if he keeps up his high level of play.
• Listen, I like to keep things light on nights the Oilers win but I do have one gripe that needs to get out. Dave Tippett needs to stop short-shifting Bear and Jones in favour of Kris Russell. Those are two important defenders for the Oilers and should be playing second-pairing minutes minimum. Russell is barely a third-pairing guy.
• Kahun getting a goal warms my cold heart. I’ve always liked the guy but he’s had consistency problems this season. You can tell the chemistry is there with Draisaitl and I hope they can connect on some more goals during the stretch.
• RNH should have about a billion more goals this year so it was great to see him get one as well. He has been snakebitten this year.
• Tkachuk’s goal was nice but I still hate him.
• Tonight's win moves Edmonton’s record to 23-13-1 on the season which puts them in a tie with the Jets for second place in the division. They each sit at 47pts and have played the exact same number of games. Toronto is a mere four points up at 51. They will have a chance to cut that gap as they seek revenge against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday!