Draisaitl paces Edmonton Oilers to 4-2 win over Calgary Flames

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists for the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-2 win over the host Calgary Flames on Sunday.

Zach Hyman, Jeff Skinner and Mattias Janmark, with the empty-netter, scored for the Oilers (6-5-1), who won their fourth game in their last five and their second straight since captain and NHL star Connor McDavid was sidelined with an ankle injury.

Edmonton’s goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 29 shots for the win.

Anthony Mantha and Yegor Sharangovich scored for Calgary (6-5-1) in front of an announced sellout of 19,289 at the Saddledome.

Calgary goaltender Dan Vladar had 27 saves in his second straight start, which marked the first time this season he or teammate Dustin Wolf played two in a row

Draisaitl lifted a backhand shot over Vladar’s glove just 20 seconds after the opening faceoff. Skinner made it 2-0 for the visitors at 8:12 on a second effort after tucking the puck by Vladar’s outstretched skate.

Mantha redirecting a Tyson Barrie shot by Skinner at 4:33 of the second period was confirmed a power-play goal after review for a possible high stick. Calgary’s Sharangovich drew the hosts even with a shot through traffic that beat Skinner’s glove at 4:28 of the third period.

Hyman scored on the second of three Edmonton power-play chances in the third period with a backhand shot over Vladar at 10:10.

Edmonton’s lone game at the Saddledome this season was minus McDavid, who is expected back in the Oilers’ lineup later this month.

The Oilers tied the NHL’s Battle of Alberta 1-1 this season with one game remaining March 29 between the provincial rivals. Calgary won 4-1 in Edmonton on Oct. 13.

TAKEAWAYS

Flames: Couldn’t handle the Oilers’ speed and were down two goals early before generating any sustained offensive-zone pressure. Put more rubber on net and produced more scoring chances in second and third periods.

Oilers: Pursued the puck with more pace than Calgary in the first 10 minutes, blocked more shots in the first period and were rewarded with a 2-0 lead. Edmonton’s power play that’s been slow to get going this season produced the game-winner from Hyman.

KEY MOMENT

Calgary’s too-many-men penalty with 2:18 remaining hurt the Flames’ chances of sending the game to overtime.

KEY STAT

Leon Draisaitl has five goals and three assists in four straight road games, and two goals and four assists in two games since McDavid was injured. Draisaitl has averaged a point per game in 56 career games without McDavid since the latter was drafted first overall by Edmonton in 2015.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Play the second game of a back-to-back Monday at home against the New Jersey Devils.

Flames: Start a three-game road trip Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2024.