GAME RECAP: Flames 9, Oilers 6 (Game 1)

CALGARY, AB - It was a scoreline reminiscent of 1991 when these two provincial rivals last met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 31 years ago, but it didn't end the way of the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers fought back to reverse two four-goal deficits, tying the game early in the third period through Kailer Yamamoto, but the Flames burnt back to restore their advantage and take Game 1 and the 1-0 lead in this second-round Battle of Alberta by a score of 9-6 on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists, while Leon Draisaitl recorded a goal and two helpers in the defeat. Zach Hyman was pivotal to the comeback effort with two goals in the second period, and Yamamoto had a goal and assist in a Game 1 high-scoring affair that marks the highest-scoring Battle of Alberta in history.
The two Alberta foes reconnect for Game 2 on Friday night back at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

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EARLY BURN

The Oilers had a tough enough task in front of them before the start of Game 1, but it became even more difficult after the opening minute of the contest was over.
Elias Lindholm bobbled a puck but collected it on his stick before ripping a hard wrister glove side that beat Mike Smith on the game's opening effort just 26 seconds into the game. It got worse 25 seconds later when Andrew Mangiapane was left unmarked in front of the Oilers crease to place Calgary's 2-0 lead last the left pad of the Oilers netminder just 51 seconds on from opening puck drop to mark the fastest two goals for the Flames to begin a playoff game in franchise history.
Brett Ritchie stole a puck off Evander Kane at the six-minute mark and snuck his ensuing shot under the arm of Smith to make it a 3-0 lead for Calgary, chasing Smith from the game after giving up three goals on 10 shots.

THE HILL GETS STEEPER

McDavid's unassisted marker 1:36 after Ritchie made it a three-goal game in the first period gave the Oilers something to build off in the middle frame when the captain outwaited Jacob Markstrom and slid his goal five-hole, but two consecutive strikes from Blake Coleman -- the first just 45 seconds into the period and another just after the six-minute mark on a deflection from the slot -- had the Flames ahead by four before Evan Bouchard and Matthew Tkachuk traded goals to make it a 6-2 game prior to the midway mark of the hockey game.

SAVE OF THE GAME

A shorthanded 2-on-1 for the Oilers nearly converted when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' wrist shot created a rebound for Derek Ryan to pounce on, but the outstretched right pad of Markstrom denied the 35-year-old and sent the Flames back the other way. It proved vital, as Tkachuk's power-play goal 36 seconds after the save marked Calgary's sixth of the night.
Despite the sharp stop, it was not a pleasant night in the crease for goaltending on both sides. Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen combined to concede nine goals on 48 shots with a team save percentage of .813, while Markstrom in the other crease mustered 22 saves on 28 shots.

HYMAN'S HELPING HAND

Turns out, this game was far from over.
It took a soft goal given up by Markstrom on a Hyman wrist shot from the left circle to really get the legs of the Oilers moving in the second half of the second period. Then, it was Hyman who found the back of the net again by walking out from behind the net uncontested and sending one glove side with just under six minutes left in the frame. The Oilers got another back in the last minute when Draisaitl and McDavid took off up the ice on a loose puck in the neutral zone, and the German sent a far-side snipe on Markstrom with 39 seconds left to turn it into a one-goal game with 20 minutes to play.

FIGHTBACK FALLS SHORT

The comeback wasn't meant to be.
Kailer Yamamoto cleaned up an excellent effort from McDavid to drive wide and create the tying goal 1:28 into the third and make it 6-6, but on par for the Flames on the night was an almost immediate response when Rasmus Anderson snuck one under the arm of Koskinen a minute-and-a-half later. Tkachuk converted a breakaway off a Draisaitl giveaway in the defensive zone to restore the two-goal lead before the Flames forward notched the hat-trick before time expired into the empty net.
When the Oilers needed their deadly powerplay to give them a much-needed goal all night, it was stymied by the hot pursuit of the Flames penalty kill on a night where the Edmonton man advantage was goalless on four opportunities. "We didn't really get any momentum going on our PP," Draisaitl said. "We're obviously looking to improve and be better next game."

PARTING WORDS

Nurse on the Oilers starts and conceding two goals in the opening minute:
"Awful start. We move on to the next one."
"They come out jumping and get three on us, then you're chasing the game from there. We have to have a better start for Game 2."
"We're capable of [starting better]. I don't think we're frustrated at all. We're capable of it. This is Game 1 of a seven-game series, so we know it needs to be better there in Game 2 and we'll worry about taking care of that. We'll do it."

Draisaitl on what he saw in Edmonton's slow start tonight:
"If you go down 2-0 before it hits the 19-minute mark on the clock, it's obviously not a good start. So collectively we weren't ready and it's tough to play catch-up for the whole night."
Draisaitl on the Oilers tying the score at 6-6 in the third before falling behind again:
"Just a couple of mistakes collectively and individually that ended up right on their tape and in the back of our net. There's obviously a lot of things we have to clean up."
"It's just little mistakes, little misreads that we obviously have to fix really quickly."

Woodcroft on the disappointing start:
"To a man, not one of us was anywhere where we needed to be to start the game. You don't draw it up giving up two goals on missed assignments on the first two shifts. We gave up a goal at the start of the second period as well. We fought back and made it a game, but we can't feel good about that in any way because we scored six goals in a game and found a way to not win it. There's a lot of things for us to clean up and we'll go through the tape and give our team something."
Woodcroft on closing out the first round with two solid defensive performances before tonight:
"I would say physically I didn't like the way we skated in the first period. I didn't think we were on our toes or assertive in any way. Mentally for sure we missed some assignments. We got pushed off a few pucks. In the end, we weren't good enough and they made us pay. The one thing that we talked about was not having any independent contractors, so when the game got to 4-1 and 5-2 I thought our team did work to make a game of it. We scored six times and there's no way we should not win that hockey game."

Woodcroft on the Oilers battling back to tie the game 6-6 early in the third period:
"In between periods we talked about the team that gets to their defensive game first was going to win that game, and we turned some pucks over after it was 6-6 and they ended up in the back of our net. Not good enough. As I said, we scored six goals on the Calgary Flames in their building on their starting goalie and that should be enough to win the game."
Woodcroft on the Oilers having to play uncomfortable:
"Not tonight. We weren't good enough tonight. I didn't think our powerplay was good enough either, and that's a form of our toughness as well. If a team wants to take liberties, for us to be able to sting teams on the powerplay, I didn't think we were sharp. I thought it was symptomatic of the rest of our game.
"In the end, we scored six even-strength goals and we should win that game. To me, in those types of situations, you should be hanging your hat on your defensive details. For us, they weren't there tonight."