Edmonton Oilers come from behind to take Game 2 in Calgary | The Canadian News

The Edmonton Oilers rallied from an early deficit for a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Friday night.

The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1.

“I thought we fought harder, that was it,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said after the game. “Working hard, being tougher in battles, winning some 50/50 records, you know we didn’t win a lot in Game 1. So, I thought we did a good job of that. Obviously, we defended better, I thought; He still gave up some chances, but Smitty played well.”

The Flames once again took an early lead. With the Oilers struggling after Zach Hyman broke his stick, Calgary defenseman Michael Stone hit a point shot past Edmonton goaltender Mike Smith 3:02 into the game.

Exactly three minutes later, Flames forward Brett Ritchie was alone in front to grab a rebound. Defenseman Duncan Keith put the Oilers on the board, finishing off a pass from Connor McDavid, who had gotten away from a control behind the net.

The Oilers received a penalty for too many men early in the second. Flames forward Tyler Toffoli capitalized on the power play to make it 3-1.

Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl thought he responded just 29 seconds later, but the Flames successfully defied goalie interference with McDavid cutting the play crease.

McDavid would get one that would count soon after, taking a pass from Keith, stepping forward and reaching to put the puck past Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom.

With Stone serving a minor double to Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto, defenseman Evan Bouchard hit a Markstrom shot to tie it 3-3.

Hyman beat Markstrom over the top on a shorthanded breakaway to give the Oilers their first series lead with 9:46 left in the third.

“You just have to keep working, it’s the playoffs,” Hyman said. “All that matters is that you get the win and I think we did a good job of just fighting. We were losing two goals there at the beginning of the second, because of a penalty from too many men, and then we just worked.”

Less than three minutes later, Draisaitl scored on his own breakaway chance to make it 5-3 Oilers.

Smith made 37 saves. Keith had one goal and two assists.

“I thought we deserved to win the game tonight based on effort alone,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said. “I thought we paid the price required to win a game in the second round. Our level of competition was excellent. Our level of execution coming out of our own ending was very good. We found a way to win the battle of the special teams.”

“We missed a lot of opportunities,” Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said. “Markstrom was very, very good for us. Individual skill was what he highlighted tonight and the situations in which they scored. That’s hard to deal with, but part of it isn’t (playing) five on five either.

Game 3 is Sunday at Rogers Place. You can listen to the game live at 630 CHED starting with The spectacle of confrontation at 4 p.m. The actual game starts at 6 p.m.

(With files from The Canadian Press)

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