Oilers erase come back against Flames
EDMONTON — Connor McDavid scored the shootout winner as the Edmonton Oilers overcame a bad start to record a 4-3 victory against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Brandon Davidson had a pair of goals and Zack Kassian also scored in regulation for the Oilers (22-24-3), who have won four of their last five games.
Matthew Tkachuk had two goals and Mark Giordano also scored for the Flames (25-16-8), who have picked up at least a point in 11 straight games despite their fourth straight loss in extra time (7-0-4).
It didn’t take long for Calgary to get on the board, scoring just 1:32 into the first period on the first shot of the contest. After a giveaway by Oilers forward Milan Lucic, Troy Brouwer chipped a bouncing puck from behind the net out front to Tkachuk, who scored his 15th goal of the season on Oilers goalie Cam Talbot.
It was the eighth time this season that the Oilers have allowed a goal on an opponent’s first shot of the game.
Calgary made it 2-0 with fiveand-a-half minutes to play in the opening frame, as Giordano scored on a long screen shot with an Oilers penalty on the way.
The Oilers finally got on the board with six minutes to play in the second period as a spinaround shot from a bad angle by Davidson surprised Flames goalie David Rittich.
Edmonton tied it up just over a minute later as Kassian cashed in on the rebound from a Leon Draisaitl shot.
The Oilers took the lead five minutes into the third period as Ryan Strome fed it in front to Davidson, who scored his second goal of the game and the season.
Calgary pulled back even eight minutes into the third when Edmonton defenceman Matt Benning lost the puck behind his net, leading to Tkachuk’s second goal of the game.
Strome had a goal called off in overtime on goaltender interference, much to the ire of Edmonton fans.
With the NHL All-Star game this weekend, the Flames are off until Tuesday, when they host the Vegas Golden Knights, while the Oilers don’t play until next Thursday, when they welcome the Colorado Avalanche to town.