Flames stay resolute facing elimination in Game 5 against Oilers

EDMONTON --The Calgary Flames said they believe they found a foothold in the Western Conference Second Round against the Edmonton Oilers despite a 5-3 loss in Game 4 at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

After winning Game 1, the Flames trail the best-of-7 series 3-1 and face elimination in Game 5 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS). Still, coach Darryl Sutter said he felt good about how they battled back.
"I liked how we played," Sutter said. "I know we're in a hole, but it's like saying we had to win on the road. Now we have to win at home.
"It's part of the whole process of our whole team growing. We hung around tonight. We're not going to go away easy and if they thought they were going to beat us easy, that wasn't the case."
RELATED: [Complete Flames vs. Oilers series coverage]
The Flames trailed 3-0 after the first period in Game 4, giving up the first goal after a giveaway by goalie Jacob Markstrom that gave Ryan Nugent-Hopkins an empty net 21 seconds into the game, Zach Hyman scored on the power play at 9:53 and Evander Kane's goal that deflected off the stick of Calgary defenseman Nikita Zadorov at 18:54 seemingly put Edmonton in control. The Flames responded in the second period with goals from Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund and tied it 3-3 at 10:56 of the third period when Rasmus Andersson's shot from inside his own blue line got by Oilers goalie Mike Smith, who admitted he never saw the puck.

"I thought we showed a resolve and resilience," Sutter said. "They score that empty-net the first minute of the game and quite honestly, I thought we had a really good first period. And that's what I told them after the first, it's a winnable game for us for sure tonight. And we [darn] near did."
Nugent-Hopkins scored the game-winner on a rebound at 16:33.
"We showed a lot of effort to crawl back into the game," Andersson said. "That second period we played really well. We played tight. A good third, too. The fourth goal obviously kind of sucks the life out of us a little there."
The Flames were 25-9-7 at home during the regular season and are 4-2 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one of their biggest reasons behind their faith heading into Game 5.
"We know are strong at home," Backlund said. "I think [our belief] even started last game (a 4-1 loss in Game 3). We were the dominant team in the third period. They scored early in this game, but we still showed really good character as a group and battled back. Unfortunately, we didn't win."
The Flames also said they are rallying around two individuals.
Markstrom has been under a spotlight against the Oilers and center Connor McDavid, who leads the postseason with 25 points (six goals, 19 assists). He made 21 saves, including 15 of the last 16 shots he faced over the final two periods.
"It's part of battling back," Sutter said. "You've got to kind of go down there, deep down in there and grab onto it."