The Edmonton Oilers (19-13-6) hosted the Calgary Flames (15-18-4) on Tuesday night (Dec. 23) in the second instalment of the Battle of Alberta, and the last game before the Christmas break. The Flames took the first meeting of the season 4-3 in a shootout on opening day. However, this game was all Edmonton as they cruised to a dominant 5-1 victory. Here’s your game recap.
Game Recap
The Oilers opened the scoring 6:48 into the first period. Evan Bouchard’s one-timer was stopped by goaltender Dustin Wolf, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pounced on the juicy rebound and buried it for his 11th goal of the season.
Then, the Flames tied the game with 4:02 remaining in the opening frame. MacKenzie Weegar’s blast from the point went off a body in front and through heavy traffic, beating goaltender Connor Ingram over the blocker for his third of the season.
The Oilers regained the lead on the man advantage with 17 seconds left in the first period. Connor McDavid passed to Zach Hyman in front, and he found Leon Draisaitl with a backhand pass for the one-timer into a gaping cage. The home team took that 2-1 lead into the dressing room, holding a 15-7 shot advantage.
Related: Projected Lineups for Flames vs Oilers – 12/23/25
Edmonton extended its lead with another power-play marker 1:59 into the middle frame. McDavid found Draisaitl in the slot, and his quick release beat Wolf blocker-side for his second of the game. The Oilers’ dominant second period continued as Hyman made it 4-1. McDavid found him on a 2-on-1, and he tapped the puck past the sprawling netminder 11:56 into the period. The Oilers took that lead into the intermission, holding a commanding 30-16 shot advantage.
The Oilers continued their domination, adding their third power-play goal of the game 5:38 into the final frame. McDavid entered the zone with speed and drove hard to the net. Hyman found the loose puck and chipped it to Draisaitl, who buried it for the hat trick. Ingram stopped 19 of 20 shots for a .950 save percentage (SV%) in the win, while Wolf stopped 34 of 39 shots for an .872 SV% in the loss.
Things got chippy in this one as we saw an ejection, a fight, and numerous scrums. That sets up a highly anticipated rematch as these two teams will battle each other after the holiday break on Saturday (Dec. 27) in Calgary. Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.
