Edmonton Defeat Flames, 5-3, to push Calgary to the brink Oilers lead series, 3-1 -

The Flames had a start to forget with Calgary goaltender Jacob Markstrom giving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins an empty-net goal just 21 seconds in the game.“We stuck with it all game. We knew they would have a push back,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We stuck together and didn’t turn on each other at any moment, and it shows good signs for our team.”

Play started to settle down in Calgary’s favor until Tyler Toffoli takes a very unnecessary tripping penalty against Warren Foegele which led to Oilers Zach Hyman scoring his seventh goal of the playoffs at the halfway point of the first period.

Hitting picked up alongside the back and forth play which led to Evander Kane giving the Oilers their third goal of the night with a minute remaining in the period.

3-0 Edmonton

The second period was mostly Edmonton until Zach Hyman gives the Calgary Flames a break with a tripping call at the midpoint of the game.

In the ensuing powerplay, Elias Lindholm gives Calgary a spark with a snipe from the point to cut the lead down to two.

Just 36 seconds later, the Flames get a break off a bad Edmonton turnover and Mikael Backlund puts home a diving beauty of a goal to cut the lead down to one.

Despite pressure brewing, Calgary was unable to further capitalize in the second period and the score remains 3-2 in Edmonton’s favor.

“I thought we showed a lot of resolve and resilience,” Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. “They score that empty-net [goal] in the first minute of the game, but I thought we had a really good first period and that’s what I told them after the first, that it was still a winnable game for us for sure tonight and we dam near did.”

The third period started with Edmonton playing a passive game and featured a six-minute window without a stoppage. This was all changed when Calgary took a too many men penalty with 11 minutes left to play.

With a handful of seconds left in the powerplay, Rasmus Andersson took a shot from his own blue line that somehow finds its way into the back of the Oiler’s net. Tied game.

“They scored on the first shift, but I don’t think we played that bad in the first period,” Andersson said. “It was a game of bounces. They got two in the first period, maybe it should’ve been a 1-0 game after the first, but it was 3-0. We showed a lot of effort to crawl back into the game.”

With three and a half minutes left, the Oilers get a goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from a rebound off Tyson Barrie’s point shot. Immediately afterward, Rasmus Andersson clips Ryan McLeod with a high stick and draws blood. With a four-minute penalty, the game is decided.

“I’ve been really impressed with our group’s ability to handle adversity,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “Our guys were saying the right things on the bench. There was calm, there was composure, and we knew we had to continue to do the things that lead to success. For us, it was making sure we had the right people on the ice at the right time.”

Jacob Markstrom was pulled with a minute remaining and Evander Kane scored an empty-net goal.

The final score is 5-3 for the Edmonton Oilers. They now lead the series 3-1.

“When we had the lead and they tied it up, no one panicked and we kept our composure,” Smith said. “We got a big goal by ‘Nugget’ (Nugent-Hopkins) to seal the deal. There has definitely been growth on this team, for sure. There is a confidence this team is playing with that we believe we can do some damage. Every game you win you gain confidence from, and you want to keep that ball rolling and doing the good things that make our team successful.”