3 Keys: Flames at Oilers, Game 3 of Western Second Round
Calgary tries to slow down McDavid; Edmonton looking for fast start
Connor McDavid will look to help give the Edmonton Oilers a 2-1 lead against the Calgary Flames in the Western Conference Second Round when they play Game 3 at Rogers Place on Sunday.
The Oilers captain leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in nine games and has multiple points in five consecutive postseason games. McDavid had four (one goal, three assists) in Game 1 and two (one goal, one assist) in Game 2.
"He continues every year in every important situation he seems to take another step and bring his game to another level," Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "I think these] playoffs, physically he's been hitting guys, using his body to protect the puck, getting on the forechecks. We see that as a group, and then obviously he makes the plays every chance that's available and makes something out of nothing in so many situations."
***[RELATED: [Complete Flames vs. Oilers series coverage]
McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring champion for the fourth time with 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists) in 80 games this season. He is the fastest player since Mario Lemieux for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 (22 points in nine games) to reach the 20-point mark in a postseason. Only Wayne Gretzky (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987) and Mike Bossy (1981) got there faster, each in eight games.
McDavid is also the second player in NHL history with eight multipoint performances in his first nine games of a postseason. Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs did it in 1977.
"It's a team effort," Flames forward Blake Coleman said. "You're not going to shut him down with one guy. You need to be conscious of him and you need to make life a lot harder than we have."
When a best-of-7 series is tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 is 229-115 (.666), including 1-5 in 2022.
Here are 3 keys for Game 3:
1. Staying 5-on-5
Can the Flames keep the game from descending into another one full of penalties? There have been a combined 35 penalties taken in the series. Edmonton scored a 4-on-4 goal, a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal en route to a 5-3 victory.
"They're a lot more skilled team than us when it comes to 5-on-4, 4-on-4," Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau said. "When we can stick to 5-on-5, that's when we play our best hockey."
2. Experience, pressure
Flames coach Darryl Sutter believes the experience some of the Oilers gained from the 2017 playoffs trumps what his team has gained by winning Game 7 of the first round this season. McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, Zack Kassian and Kris Russell were with the Oilers when they lost Game 7 to the Anaheim Ducks in the 2017 second round.
"[The series] is happening pretty fast for some of these young guys," Sutter said. "They're learning as they go, that's for sure.
"This is an experience for our group. It's a process. There's one difference between the Oilers' young guys and our young guys is the Oilers young guys all got beat in Game 7 in Round 2. These guys have not. They've won a Game 7 in Round 1. Big difference."
3. A better start for Edmonton
The Oilers are looking to get up to speed in Game 3 much faster than Game 1 or 2.
They trailed 3-0 in the first 6:05 of Game 1 and lost 9-6. They fell behind 2-0 in the first 6:02 of Game 2.
Edmonton is 1-4 when allowing the first goal, and 4-0 when scoring first, in the 2022 playoffs.
"Tonight, we know the start's important," Nugent-Hopkins said. "The crowd should help us out there. Not our two best starts in Calgary but we battled back in both games, especially Game 2. Tonight, with the crowd buzzing there's no excuse why we shouldn't come out flying tonight."
Flames projected lineup
Johnny Gaudreau -- Elias Lindholm -- Matthew Tkachuk
Andrew Mangiapane -- Mikael Backlund -- Blake Coleman
Dillon Dube -- Calle Jarnkrok -- Tyler Toffoli
Milan Lucic -- Trevor Lewis -- Brett Ritchie
Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson
Oliver Kylington -- Michael Stone
Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Gudbranson
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Scratched:Adam Ruzicka, Ryan Carpenter, Connor Mackey
Injured:Chris Tanev (undisclosed)
Oilers projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Connor McDavid -- Leon Draisaitl
Zach Hyman -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Kailer Yamamoto
Josh Archibald -- Derek Ryan -- Zack Kassian
Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci
Duncan Keith -- Evan Bouchard
Brett Kulak -- Tyson Barrie
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched:* Philip Broberg, Devin Shore, Derick Brassard, Kris Russell
Injured:None
Status report
The Flames did not hold a morning skate, but Tanev skated with the extras. He is expected to miss his fourth game with an undisclosed injury. ... Calgary is not expected to make any lineup changes. ... The Oilers are expected use the same lineup. ... Russell will sit out his second consecutive game and Foegele will play his second straight.
