The third and final instalment of the Battle of Alberta saw the Calgary Flames head north to battle the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. This was the rubber match, as the road team won the previous two meetings. Calgary defeated Edmonton on Oct. 13, and the Oilers returned the favour on Nov. 3. This game had a lot on the line and was a must-win game for both teams. Edmonton is in a battle for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, while Calgary is just looking to sneak into the postseason. The Oilers battled back from multiple one-goal deficits to defeat the Flames 3-2 in overtime on the back of Leon Draisaitl, who returned to the lineup after a four-game absence. Here’s your game recap.
Game Recap
The Flames opened the scoring 4:32 into the contest. Off the rush, Nazem Kadri ripped a shot off the pad of goaltender Calvin Pickard, and Yegor Sharangovich buried the rebound for his 13th of the season. That was all the offence in a chippy first period, with the shots tied at seven each.
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The Oilers tied the game at one with 3:40 remaining in the second period. Draisaitl’s cross-seam pass found Viktor Arvidsson, and his one-timer beat goaltender Dustin Wolf short-side for his 11th of the campaign.
Then, Joel Farabee was denied by the Oilers’ netminder on a breakaway with 43 seconds remaining. That led to a scrum after the whistle, with Corey Perry going after Rasmus Andersson and Mikael Backlund, which resulted in a Calgary power play that carried over into the third period. These two fierce rivals went into the dressing room deadlocked at one, with the Flames having a 19-16 shot advantage.
The Flames regained the lead 7:55 into the third period. Kadri found the trailer, Brayden Pachal off the rush, and he walked in and ripped a shot past Pickard for his third of the season.
Then, with 3:12 remaining, Draisaitl tied the game for his milestone 50th goal of the season. Darnell Nurse made a great pinch at the red line, and Evan Bouchard’s backhand pass found Draisaitl, and he sniped a shot upstairs, past Wolf. As a result, this game headed to overtime.
2:25 into extra time, Jeff Skinner found Draisaitl in the slot, and he ripped a shot blocker side to secure Edmonton’s 42nd win of the season. Pickard stopped 26 of 28 shots for a .929 save percentage (SV%) in the victory, and Wolf stopped 26 of 29 for a .897 SV% in defeat.
The Flames continue their three-game road trip on Monday night (March 31) against the Colorado Avalanche. Meanwhile, on Tuesday (April 1), the Oilers begin a four-game Pacific Division road trip against the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.
