The Sun (San Bernardino)

Kane leads Oilers' blitz to gain 2-1 series lead

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Evander Kane had three goals in a six-minute span in the second period, Leon Draisaitl set an NHL record with four assists in one playoff period and the Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 Sunday night in Edmonton to take a 2-1 lead in their secondroun­d playoff series.

Zach Hyman had the other goal for Edmonton and Connor McDavid had three more assists. Mike Smith, who was briefly replaced by Mikko Koskinen in the third period after getting run over by Milan Lucic, made 31 saves. Koskinen wasn’t forced to make a stop in just more than four minutes.

Oliver Kylington scored the lone goal for Calgary. Jacob Markstrom allowed four goals on 34 shots before getting pulled for the Flames, who have been outscored 8-1 since taking a 3-1 lead in the second period of Game2. Dan Vladar made seven saves in relief.

McDavid now has 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) through 10 postseason games. The only players in NHL playoff history with more points in the same span are Wayne Gretzky (29 in 1983; 25 in 1985), Mario Lemieux (25 in 1992) and Rick Middleton (23 in 1983).

The Oilers will look to take a 3-1 lead in the bestof-7 series Tuesday night at Edmonton.

In the first playoff meeting in Edmonton to feature the Oilers and Flames since April 14, 1991, the Oilers scored four goals in just more 12 minutes in the second period — including Kane’s second hat trick of the month.

Hyman opened the scoring 52 seconds into the period off a setup from Draisaitl and McDavid for his sixth goal of the postseason.

Kane, who signed with the Oilers in January after having his contract terminated by the San Jose Sharks following a string of off-ice incidents, scored his first of the night at 6:58 off a feed from Draisaitl.

Kane made it 3-0 just 53 seconds later after an impressive rush by McDavid after stepping past Calgary defenseman Noah Hanifin.

Kane capped his hat trick — the seventh-fastest in NHL playoffs history — with his 10th goal of the playoffs at 12:58 on a 2-on-1 with McDavid.

Kane, 30, is the third Edmonton player to score three straight goals in a playoff game, joining Gretzky (1983) and Petr Kilma (1991). Draisaitl’s fourth assist of the second period, meanwhile, set the playoff record for any period.

RANGERS 3, HURRICANES 1 >> After two tough losses on the road put them in another series deficit, the New York Rangers again bounced back with a big home win. Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, Igor Shesterkin stopped 43 shots, and the Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series. Chris Kreider and

Tyler Motte also scored as the Rangers cut their deficit to 2-1 in the bestof-7 matchup. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. It was just New York’s second win against Carolina in the teams’ last 10 meetings, dating to the qualifying round of the 2020 playoffs in the bubble in Toronto. The Hurricanes swept that best-of-5 series in three games and won three of four in the regular season. The Rangers, who came back from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round against Pittsburgh, improved to 4-1 at home. They got a much-needed win against the Hurricanes after losing 2-1 in OT in Game 1 and 2-0 in Game 2. Nino Niederreit­er scored for Carolina, and Antti Raanta had 30 saves. The Hurricanes, 6-0 at home, dropped to 0-4 on the road this postseason. LIGHTNING 5, PANTHERS 1 >> Steven Stamkos scored two goals and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists as the host Lightning moved to the brink of another trip to the Eastern Conference final. Corey Perry and Erik Cernak also scored, and reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevski­y had 34 saves to help the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Panthers, who had the NHL’s best record in the regular season. TORONTO'S GIORDANO GETS EXTENSION >> Toronto signed veteran defenseman Mark Giordano to a two-year extension. The average annual value of the deal is $800,000. Giordano, 38, had eight goals and 27 assists last season split between Toronto and Seattle.

 ?? JEFF MCINTOSH — THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP ?? Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) scores one of his three second-period goals on Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta. The Oilers took a 2-1series lead.
JEFF MCINTOSH — THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) scores one of his three second-period goals on Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta. The Oilers took a 2-1series lead.

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