GDB 9.0 Conclusion: Strong performance by Stuart Skinner leads Oilers to 3-2 win over Flames in Calgary
The Flames will have to wait before hoisting their banner as the 2022-23 Battle of Alberta regular season champions.
Two weeks ago, the Flames arrived in Edmonton and outscored the Oilers in a 4-3 win. This time around, the Oilers put together a much more solid and comprehensive effort and pulled off a serious win.
Connor McDavid scored three and Zach Hyman buried his fifth and sixth goals of the season, but the first star of the game for the Oilers was undoubtedly Stuart Skinner, who stopped 40 of 42 shots the Flames threw at him .
Skinner has now stopped 128 of 134 shots he’s faced this season, good for a .955 save percentage.
After both teams were held scoreless in the first period, Mikael Backlund shook things up for the Flames minutes into the second period with a shorthanded goal. It was a tough look for Tyson Barrie, who didn’t hold the line effectively at all and allowed Backlund to escape on a break.
It didn’t take long for the Oilers to tie things up at 1-1. On the same power play, Zach Hyman took a feed from Connor McDavid and wired a shot past a sprawling Markstrom.
seconds after the Oilers allowed a shorthanded goal, they recovered one on the power play. Zach Hyman gets the credit and we’re tied at 1. pic.twitter.com/iU0gpSqx78
– zach laing, but lots of halloween candy (@zjlaing) October 30, 2022
The Flames regained the lead shortly before the end of the second. Milan Lucic was good at sucking the puck behind the net, cashed a check from Evan Bouchard and threw a pass into the slot to Brett Ritchie, who buried his third of the season. Bouchard, Brett Kulak and McDavid got caught focusing too much on Lucic behind the net and Ritchie was able to settle alone up front.
The Oilers tied the game 2-2 with just over half of the third period remaining. McDavid picked up a puck along the boards that had been rung around the Calgary zone and delivered a soft shot that fooled Jacob Markstrom. It was a game-changer in last year’s playoff series, with Markstrom allowing soft goals out of the blue in an otherwise solid start.
Minutes later, the Oilers grabbed a 3-2 when Hyman scored his second of the game. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman forced a turnover behind the net and McDavid found the puck in the crease and fed Hyman for a tap-in to the side of the net.
Zach Hyman can’t stop scoring goals. he gives the Oilers a 3-2 lead as Connor Mcdavid gets his third point of the night. pic.twitter.com/wrO6rkO9w6
– zach laing, but lots of halloween candy (@zjlaing) October 30, 2022
- Ken Holland mentioned the other day in a podcast appearance that he’d rather his teams go on a road trip at the start of the season than get comfortable playing multiple games at home to get things started. The Oilers had an uneven start to the season in their six-game home stint, but really turned things around on this three-game trip. The team’s defense begins to unravel as the players find their roles.
- One player who has quietly made a difference for the Oilers on the defensive side of the ice is Markus Niemelainen. He played a season-high 15:25 against the Flames and performed well on the penalty kill. He’s been better than Ryan Murray so far and allows the Oilers to take their time with Philip Broberg, who made his 2022-23 debut with the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday.
- All kidding aside, the Flames played a solid game Saturday. If not for that Markstrom error and Skinner’s brilliance, they could have easily won this game by outscoring the Oilers 42-26. They did well in the offseason to replace Johnny Gaudreau and Matt Tkachuk with Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar. It’s very, very early but this version of the Flames is shaping up to be a tougher opponent to beat in the playoffs.
- We’ll end with Skinner, who has established himself as Edmonton’s number one goaltender at the moment. Although Jack Campbell is the $25 million man, he’s more of a 1A and 1B tandem than a starter and backup situation and the Oilers should roll with Skinner while he’s out. hot.
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