Haas nets winner for Oilers
Edmonton edges Calgary 2-1
The Edmonton Oilers relied on defence instead of their scoring stars to beat the host Calgary Flames 2-1 on Friday.
Gaetan Haas scored the eventual game-winner in the second period and Jesse Puljujarvi scored his fifth goal in his last seven games for Edmonton (11-8-0).
Oilers goaltender Mike Smith turned away 20 shots for his third win in four starts.
The NHL’s top two scorers — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl respectively — were held without a point.
Edmonton’s defence felt to be a weakness at the start of the season was stout Friday.
“We’ll take the points any way we can right now,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “Probably wasn’t our prettiest win, but sometimes it’s going to go down like that and you’ve just got to grind it out.
“I thought Smitty and our D-corp was really solid tonight. Not giving them too many good opportunities.
“This is going to be tight-checking division when it comes down to it. I know it’s been kind of high scoring, but it’s not always going to be like this.”
Defenceman Rasmus Andersson scored for Calgary (8-8-1).
David Rittich made 23 saves in his third start of the season.
The Flames gave Jacob Markstrom a breather after he started seven games in a row and 14 of Calgary’s first 16.
The Oilers knotted this season’s Battle of Alberta at 1-1 ahead of ahead of tonight’s rematch in Edmonton.
The Flames prevailed 6-4 in the first of their 10 meetings in the
North Division on Feb. 6.
The two clubs combined for over 100 minutes in their final clash last season, but the provincial rivalry has been slow to boil in 2020-21.
Calgary and Edmonton combined for five minors Friday. The Flames went scoreless on three power-play chances and the Oilers went 0-for-2.
After Wednesday’s 5-1 loss at home to the Vancouver Canucks, Flames head coach Geoff Ward said he wanted more emotion from his squad. He felt there were small gains in that area Friday.
“We’ve got more to give for sure,” Ward said.
“It was a step in the right directions, but we can still be better. We’ve got to find a way to generate a little bit more in terms of pushing ourselves forward. At points there was some (emotion). At other points we need to have more desperation still.
“There wasn’t a lot of ice out there for sure. We know how to play to get through it. It’s just a matter of putting our minds to it and getting it done.”