On Monday, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers played twice – once in Calgary and once in Edmonton.
In the Calgary half of the proceedings, after a fairly even first 20 minutes, the home side pulled away. It ended up being a pretty one-sided affair ultimately, with the Flames beating the Oilers by a 6-1 score.
The rundown
The Oilers opened the scoring on the power play. With William Strömgren in the sin bin, Mike Hoffman used Artem Grushnikov as a screen and fired a shot past Dan Vladar to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage.
But a little later, the Flames answered back. A MacKenzie Weegar point shot missed the Oilers net, but it ricocheted off the end boards and right to Nazem Kadri. Kadri put the puck past Olivier Rodrigue, sliding right to left, to tie the game up at 1-1.
The Flames pulled away in the second period.
First, Mikael Backlund threw a puck towards the front of the Oilers net. Connor Zary wriggled past an Oilers defender and used one hand to poke check the puck into the Oilers net to give the Flames a 2-1 lead.
A little later, the Flames scored again. They had a two man advantage, but couldn’t score and the Oilers cleared the zone. But shortly after the Oilers got back one of their players from the box, Zary toe-dragged around a defender and beat Rodrigue to make it 3-1 Flames.
A little later, Zary fired the puck on Rodrigue. The Oilers’ netminder made the stop, but Daniil Miromanov jumped on the rebound to make it 4-1.
Before the end of the frame, Kadri found Yegor Sharangovich in the slot and number 17 made it 5-1.
In the third period, Sharangovich scored again, this time shorthanded. Off the rush, he sniped a shot past Nathaniel Day to make it 6-1.
The Flames held on for the 6-1 victory.
Why the Flames won
On paper, the Flames had a distinct talent edge of the Oilers. It’s a home pre-season game, and the team in red had more big guns dressed than the visitors. But give the Flames credit: they really did a nice job out-working the Oilers, particularly in the second period.
Red Warrior
We’re gonna give it to Zary, who was really dialed in and noticeable all game long.
But a few gentlemen in red had good outings. Among them: Sharangovich, Basha and Vladar.
Turning point
Zary’s two second period goals grabbed momentum for the home side, and they never let it go.
This and that
Here’s how the Flames lined up:
Zary – Backlund [C] – Coleman
Sharangovich – Kadri [A] – Kuzmenko
Lomberg – Schwindt – Klapka
Strömgren – Morton – Basha
Weegar [A] – Miromanov
Solovyov – Barrie
Grushnikov – Hanley
Dan Vladar started in goal, backed up by Waltteri Ignatjew. Ignatjew entered the game to start the third period.
Up next
The Flames are off tomorrow. They’re back on the practice ice, and back in game action, on Wednesday when they head to scenic Abbotsford to face the Vancouver Canucks.
