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Instant Reaction: Flames fall short in airing of grievances against Oilers
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Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Ryan Pike
Dec 23, 2025, 23:41 ESTUpdated: Dec 24, 2025, 00:01 EST
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Welcome to Instant Reaction, where we give you our instant reaction to tonight’s Calgary Flames game and ask our readers to do the same in the comments section below! 
The Calgary Flames travelled up to Rogers Place on Tuesday evening to visit the Edmonton Oilers in both clubs’ final game before Christmas.
The Oilers looked confident and created offensive chances almost at will. The Flames hung in there for the first half of the game, but then seemed to lose their nerve and structure, and the Oilers took over the game. The Flames closed out their pre-holiday schedule with a 5-1 loss to Edmonton.

The rundown

The Oilers opened the scoring just under seven minutes into the first period off a nice offensive play. The Oilers got into the Flames’ zone using Connor McDavid’s speed, then cycled the puck to the point. Evan Bouchard’s shot was stopped by Dustin Wolf, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was left all alone in front with the rebound and he beat Wolf to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
With just over four minutes left in the period, the Flames got on the board and drew even. Mikael Backlund’s line got into the zone and cycled the puck to the point, where MacKenzie Weegar blasted a point shot on net. Darnell Nurse was jostling with Connor Zary for position in front of the net, and Weegar’s shot glanced in off Nurse to tie the game at 1-1.
But on a power play late in the period, coming after the teams had exchanged minors back and forth, Zach Hyman made a great feed from the net-front over to Leon Draisaitl, in his usual spot to the left of the goaltender, and Draisaitl blasted the puck past Wolf to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead.
First period shots were 15-8 Oilers. Via Natural Stat Trick, 5v5 scoring chances were 10-6 Oilers and high-danger scoring chances were 5-1 Oilers.
Early in the second period, Edmonton received another power play after Matt Coronato was called for hooking in the neutral zone. On the resulting power play, McDavid and Draisaitl executed a nice give-and-go, ending with a shot from the front of the net from Draisaitl that beat Wolf to give Edmonton a 3-1 lead.
The game got kinda scrambly after Weegar was ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct and protesting the call.
The Oilers eventually made it 4-1 off a nice rush play, with McDavid throwing the puck to the far lane for an in-motion redirect from Hyman past a sprawling Wolf.
Second period shots were 15-8 Oilers. 5v5 scoring chances were 13-4 Oilers and high-danger chances 8-1 Oilers.
The Oilers made it 5-1 on an early third period power play. With Joel Hanley in the sin bin, Draisaitl completed his hat trick – one that was comprised entirely of power play goals, oddly enough.
The rest of the game was fairly uneventful, aside from a scrum at the end of regulation, as the Oilers were content to roll their lines and run the clock.
Third period shots were 9-3 Oilers. 5v5 scoring chances were 6-2 Oilers and high-danger scoring chances were 2-0 Oilers.

Why the Flames lost

Let’s be honest, gang: this is the type of game that the Flames could lose even if they played their best. Coming into this game Edmonton’s star players had some swagger to their game, and they’re tough to beat even if you play perfect hockey.
But man, the Flames seemed to unravel in this game, and they took too many undisciplined penalties that allowed the Oilers to do their thing on the power play. If the Flames remain composed and keep this game at five-on-five, they probably had a fighting chance. That did not happen, and this was the result.

Red Warrior

Dustin Wolf tried his best against a veritable shooting gallery.

Turning point

Take your pick between:
  • The late first period power play goal, which prevented the Flames from going into the locker room tied.
  • The early second period power play goal, which gave the Oilers breathing room.
  • MacKenzie Weegar’s ejection, which dropped the Flames to five defenders for the second half of the hockey game.

This and that

Kevin Bahl fought Trent Frederic in the second period.
This was Dustin Wolf’s 99th NHL appearance. It was also the first Calgary/Edmonton clash for John Beecher, Hunter Brzustewicz and Yan Kuznetsov… and Mikael Backlund’s 67th.

After Burner

Join Mike Gould and Kent Wilson right after the game for After Burner!

Up next

The Flames (15-18-4) are headed home and taking a three day break. They’re back in action on Saturday night to welcome the Oilers to the Saddledome for their fourth-from-final visit.

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi

This article is a Presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the best warranty in the business with ten year warranties available. Check out the showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca

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