In Edmonton Wednesday, Connor McDavid showed why he received the big contract extension from the Oilers this offseason.
In the season opener at home, McDavid struck for a hat trick in a 3-0 win over the Calgary Flames.
“It’s a good way to start, I guess,” McDavid said. “It feels good tonight but we have a long way to go here.
“We were able to create some chances. Everybody was making a big deal about Calgary’s defense, but it was our defense that was great tonight. They were moving pucks up to the forwards so we could do what we get paid to do.”
Cam Talbot made 26 saves to get the win.
“You can’t say enough good things about No. 97,” Talbot said. “We played a complete game tonight as a team. We didn’t give them many chances,”
McDavid completed the hat trick with empty-netter late in the third.
“He had the goals, but it wasn’t just about him,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. “They beat us in almost every department. They won the battles on the wall. They were clean on their breakouts. They made plays. They threw pucks to the net. I thought their team was all-around better than us tonight. We have got to be better.”
[WATCH: Complete Flames vs. Oilers highlights]
Mike Smith had 42 saves in his debut with the Flames and got no support in the loss.
“Not the feeler I wanted to start with. That’s the type of player [McDavid] is. When he has space and time he can wind it up and create some pretty unique scoring chances. Obviously, it was nice to kind of get my game going there. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep him off the board the rest of the night,” SMith after the game.
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