GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Flames 3 (Game 4)

EDMONTON, AB - The Nuge came up the hugest he ever has for the Edmonton Oilers over his 11 seasons in Orange & Blue.
The Oilers staked themselves to a 3-0 lead in the first period behind goals from Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane before the Calgary Flames forged their comeback over the next two frames to level the score heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
With time in regulation dwindling down, Nugent-Hopkins scored the biggest goal of his career and his second of the night at the most critical moment by beating Jacob Markstrom on the rebound from a shot by Tyson Barrie with 3:27 remaining.
"Yeah, I don't think there's a question about that," Nugent-Hopkins said of the magnitude of his game-winner. "Obviously a lot of work left to do, but you'd rather be up 3-1 than 2-2."
Kane added an empty-netter in the final minute, sealing the 5-3 victory in Game 4 at Rogers Place and to give the Oilers a 3-1 series advantage in this second-round Battle of Alberta.
"I think Ryan is someone who's someone who's the longest-serving Oiler right now," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "He's probably going to go down by the end of his career as one of the players who's played the most games in an Oilers uniform, so to see him come up big in a big moment when the team needed him, it's inspiring."
The Oilers can eliminate their provincial rivals with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

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FIRST BLOOD

A gaffe giveaway behind the Calgary net gifted the Oilers the lead 21 seconds into the hockey game.
Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom caught a glimpse of Jesse Pulujarvi covering his flank at the opposite side of the net, so the netminder had to go around the glass or up the middle to get the puck out of danger. Caught in two minds, Markstrom fanned on his pass and the puck floated lazily into the danger area in front of Calgary's net for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to shoot away from his body and into the empty cage as the Swede tried to recover in time with a diving save.

SAVE OF THE GAME

The Flames outshot the Oilers 13-9 in the opening frame, getting their best opportunity on a chance to equalize the score 4:45 into the first when Matthew Tkachuk set up Johnny Gaudreau for a one-timer in the left circle. The Flames forward had plenty of net to aim for, but the gap was quickly closed by a lateral-moving Smith, who tracked the effort and snagged Gaudreau's shot in between his left pad and arm for a critical save.

POWERED UP

The Oilers have felt due for a breakthrough this series in the power-play department after working their way in front in the series behind 5-on-5 play, strong defence and great goaltending. Game 3 as a whole lacked anything on the man advantage, with the Oilers going 0-for-4 as part of a combined 0-for-9 night from both sides of the Battle of Alberta.
Leave it to Hyman to turn the dial.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid completed one of their coveted back-to-the-net-and-shoot connections on the power play, with the captain spinning and sending a shot to the far post. Markstrom knocked down the first shot, but it was left to bounce in the crease where Hyman choked up on his stick and batted it over the line on his second attempt during the only man advantage of the first period.

Hyman continued his streak of scoring in every game in the second round, increasing his total to five goals in four games this series and seven in 11 games overall in the post-season. But the Flames got one of their own in a penalty-dominated second period for Edmonton, who took three infractions and were beaten on Calgary's first powerplay by a snipe top shelf from Elias Lindholm that pulled one back after Evander Kane made it a 3-0 game before the first intermission.

TURNING UP THE FLAMES

The Oilers were up three goals, but then the Calgary pressure came.
Lindholm's power-play goal gave the Flames something to build on, and it soon led to the visitors scoring a second in the span of 36 seconds when Michael Backlund cut back onto his forehand across Duncan Keith on a rush and snuck a shot under the right arm of Smith to make it a 3-2 game near the midway mark of the middle frame. The score held up to the second intermission, leaving 20 minutes for Edmonton to defend a lead.

AIRMAIL DELIVERY

The tying goal was a full flight down the ice that found its way into the back of Edmonton's net.
As an Oilers powerplay winded down, Rasmus Andersson sent a deceptive full-ice clearance down the ice around the height of the glass that camouflaged itself the sea of orange in the bowl of Rogers Place in front Smith. The puck was on target, and before it came into Smith's vision it was in the back of his net to go down as a short-handed equalizer from Andersson 10:56 into the third to tie the game 3-3.
"I don't think there's been a time in my career where I lost the puck and had no idea where it went," Smith said. "Talking to some guys after, they also didn't know where it went, which made me feel better."

HOPKIN' TO IT

Nuuuuuuuuuuge!
Nugent-Hopkins scored the biggest goal of his 11-year tenure in Orange & Blue to seal the deal in Game 4.
Tyson Barrie let fly a shot from between the circles that dropped in front of Markstrom, where Number 93 was positioned to bury the loose puck into the top shelf and lift the Oilers to a 4-3 lead with 3:27 left in regulation, simmering the Flames' comeback and sending Rogers Place into a fever in the process.

Ryan McLeod took a vicious high stick to make a late answer for Calgary all that much harder with Andersson in the box for a double minor. The Flames pulled their goalie, but with 25 seconds left, it was Kane burying the empty-netter to secure the Oilers the Game 4 victory and earn themselves the chance to advance to the Conference Finals with a win on Thursday in Calgary up 3-1 in the series.

TOP PERFORMER

Nugent-Hopkins earned top-star honours with his third and fourth goals of the playoffs -- the second of which went down as the all-important game-winner in the final minutes. The man from Burnaby, B.C. they call 'Nuge' and 'Nugget' in the locker room has 10 points in 11 games after scoring the first two playoff goals of his career in front of the home fans of the Oilers in Game 4.

PARTING WORDS

Nugent-Hopkins on scoring his first playoff goals with fans in Rogers Place:
"That first one was a fortunate bounce, then the last one, Tyson put it in a good spot and I tried to go the net and bang it in. We stuck with it all game, we knew they would have a push back, but we stuck together and didn't turn on each other at any moment. It's a good sign for our team."
Woodcroft on regaining composure after Calgary tied the game:
"I've been really impressed with our group's ability to handle adversity. Our guys were saying the right things on the bench, they were calm, there was composure, and we just had to continue to do the things that lead to success.
"For us, it was making sure we had the right people on the ice at the right time. There was a period in the game where we felt like we stopped shooting the puck. I thought after that goal went in, we put our nose back to the grindstone and found a way to get the winning goal, so I was happy for our group."
Nugent-Hopkins on the Oilers remaining composed after Andersson's weird third-period goal:
"We talked to each other on the bench, but the main thing was that we had to keep pushing -- 3-2 or 3-3 -- the goal is to keep going. Stuff like that happens. It's hockey and bad bounces happen. The way that we stuck together, there is no quit in our game."

Smith on the feeling when your teammates pick you up:
"It's never perfect. When something like that happens, it's unusual. It's not a very good feeling personally, but this group has never wavered when mistakes have been made in games. Through the course of the season, we always found a way to stick with it, and we had another instance of it tonight. There was some adversity at the end, but no one hit the panic button, we stuck with it and got the win. That's all you want to do in the playoffs is score one more game than the other team and get the win. We did that tonight and we pushed the series along."
Nugent-Hopkins on the atmosphere in Rogers Place during Game 4:
"The atmosphere in that building is something I've never experienced. It was pretty good in '16-17, but tonight was something special."
Nugent-Hopkins on the resiliency showed the Oilers:
"I think that's been a theme with us all year. We've gone through some adversity. The way we stuck together and came out the right end of it shows the character we have in that room and the resiliency we have in the group. Stuff like that happens in every game and you have to stick with it. I think we're well equipped to handle situations like that."
Smith on the Oilers gaining momentum with the chance to advance in Game 5 on Thursday:
"Every game you play in the playoffs, you get experience. There are ebbs and flows to a game and a series. They are all learning experiences throughout a whole course of a game. There is stuff that happens, it is never perfect, but it's how you handle it and battle through the adversity.
"We're doing that when we're down, we're finding a way to get back in games. We had a lead there and they tied it up, but no one panicked. Everyone kept their composure and we got a big goal by Nugget to seal the deal. There is definitely growth in this team and there is confidence in the way this team is playing that we can do some damage. Every game that you win you can get some confidence from, but you just want to keep that ball rolling and do the good things that make your team successful. I feel like the structure that we're playing with, makes us a real good hockey team."

Woodcroft on Nugent-Hopkins' performance:
"He kind of falls under the radar in terms of really good hockey players on our team. Just because you have people that are doing what they're doing with the numbers putting up, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the first-overall draft pick in the NHL for a reason. He's a heck of a hockey player, he does a lot of really subtle things very well, and he makes us a deeper team when he's in our lineup. He allows me to move some of the chess pieces around the chessboard, and to see him get rewarded with two tonight, I was happy for him personally."
"I think Ryan is someone who's someone who's the longest-serving Oiler right now. He's probably going to go down by the end of his career as one of the players who's played the most games in an Oilers uniform, so to see him come up big in a big moment when the team needed him, it's inspiring."
Woodcroft on the way his team handled Calgary's desperation:
"It was a gut-check win for our team, so I'm really happy for our group to be able to find the win. I think we set out today when we spoke to our guys and we used the mantra, 'whatever it takes.' It doesn't matter if something bad happens in the game, whatever it takes. It doesn't matter if you spent a minute-and-a-half in your own end, if you're willing to block the shot and that's what's required, whatever it takes. That's a good counter thrust to the outside noise, and tonight, we got up 3-0 and they scored a couple in the middle frame. A weird one goes in, but in the end, our group had that mantra, 'whatever it takes.' They got it done when it counted."