Puljujarvi scores twice; Oilers hold off Flames rally

CALGARY — Edmonton picked up a big two points, but it wasn’t as easy as it looked like it was going to be.

Jesse Puljujarvi scored twice and Patrick Maroon had the eventual game-winner as the Oilers held off a wild third period Calgary rally to beat the Flames, 7-5, in National Hockey League action Saturday night.

The Oilers led 6-1 with less than 15 minutes remaining when Calgary scored four goals in a row in just over seven minutes to suddenly close within one.

“The first five minutes we were on them and got pucks in and got the forecheck and then they got one, they got two, they got three, they got four,” said Maroon. “My heart skipped a beat there for a second on the fifth goal.”

Pressing for the tying goal, Johnny Gaudreau had his shot on a two-on-one blockered away by Laurent Brossoit. The Flames also failed to capitalize on a power play with six minutes left.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ended the threat with 1:01 left when his centring deflected in off the stick of Flames defenceman TJ Brodie.

“Our resilience right now is really good. Other than tonight, we’ve been down in every game for the past three and the way we fought back has been a really good sign for us. It’s something we did really well last year,” Nugent-Hopkins said.

The Oilers have won six straight against Calgary, outscoring them 31-16. Edmonton pulls within five points of the Flames in the Western Conference standings.

“It’s been a good streak right now. We want to keep that rolling,” said NugentHopkins. “Obviously a divisional team and a natural rivalry with the Alberta thing. We take pride in these games and we come out really hard.”

Jujhar Khaira, Mark Letustu and Milan Lucic also scored for Edmonton (11-14-2).

Sam Bennett, with a pair, Mikael Frolik, Micheal Ferland and Gaudreau scored for Calgary (14-11-1).

“Way too many chances against tonight. Way too many,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano. “We gave up four or five breakaways again to that team. They just feed off transition and turnovers. We hung our goalie out to dry.”