Oilers hold off Flames in Game 4, extend lead in Western Second Round

EDMONTON -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane each scored twice for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-3 win against the Calgary Flames in Game 4 of the Western Conference Second Round at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

The Oilers lead 3-1 in the best-of-7 series. Game 5 is at Calgary on Thursday.
"We stuck with it all game. We knew they would have a push back," Nugent-Hopkins. "We stuck together and didn't turn on each other at any moment, and it shows good signs for our team."
Leon Draisaitl had three assists, and Connor McDavid had two assists for Edmonton, the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division. Mike Smith made 29 saves.
Jacob Markstrom allowed four goals on 25 shots for Calgary, the No. 1 seed in the Pacific.

The Flames rallied from three goals down and tied it when Rasmus Andersson scored from 132 feet away at 10:56 of the third period before Nugent-Hopkins got his second of the game on a rebound of Tyson Barrie's shot at 16:33 to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead.
"I thought we showed a lot of resolve and resilience," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "They score that empty-net goal] in the first minute of the game, but I thought we had a really good first period and that's what I told them after the first, that it was still a winnable game for us for sure tonight and we dam near did."
***[RELATED: [Complete Flames vs. Oilers series coverage]*
Nugent-Hopkins scored 21 seconds into the first period after Markstrom fanned on a clearing attempt at the side of the net to make it 1-0.
Zach Hyman made it 2-0 on the power play at 9:53, sweeping a loose puck at the crease.
Kane gave Edmonton a 3-0 lead at 18:54 when his shot from the slot deflected off the stick of Calgary defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who dove to try and block the shot.
"They scored on the first shift, but I don't think we played that bad in the first period," Andersson said. "It was a game of bounces. They got two in the first period, maybe it should've been a 1-0 game after the first, but it was 3-0. We showed a lot of effort to crawl back into the game."

Elias Lindholm scored on the power play at 9:04 of the second period on a shot from the right face-off circle to make it 3-1, and Mikael Backlund cut it to 3-2 off a rush down the right wing 36 seconds later at 9:40.
"I've been really impressed with our group's ability to handle adversity," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Our guys were saying the right things on the bench. There was calm, there was composure, and we knew we 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."
Markstrom kept it a one-goal game at 10:02 of the third period during an Oilers power play to keep the Flames within a goal when he slid across and got his pad on a one-timer from Draisaitl.
Andersson tied it 54 seconds later when a shot from his own zone found its way past Smith to make it 3-3.
"I can laugh now, right?" Smith said. "I don't think there's been a time in my career where I've lost a puck and have no idea where it went. Talking to some guys after, I wasn't the only one that didn't know where it was either, so it made me feel a little bit better. Obviously you don't want that to happen ever, but an unbelievable goal by 'Nuge' at the end there to give us a boost back and get us up in the series. A win's a win."

Andersson was assessed a double minor for high-sticking Oilers forward Ryan McLeod with 2:40 remaining, and Kane scored an empty-net goal with 25 seconds left for the 5-3 final.
"When we had the lead and they tied it up, no one panicked and we kept our composure," Smith said. "We got a big goal by 'Nugget' (Nugent-Hopkins) to seal the deal. There has definitely been growth on this team, for sure. There is a confidence this team is playing with that we believe we can do some damage. Every game you win you gain confidence from, and you want to keep that ball rolling and doing the good things that make our team successful."
NOTES: Draisaitl is the first player in NHL history to have three or more points in four straight Stanley Cup Playoff games. … Flames defenseman Chris Tanev had an assist in 19:24 of ice time; he was not expected to play because of an undisclosed injury that forced him to miss four games. … McDavid extended his multipoint streak to seven games, tying Darryl Sittler (Toronto Maple Leafs, 1977) and Tony Currie (St. Louis Blues, 1981) for second-longest in NHL history; Wayne Gretzky had an eight-game streak with the Oilers in 1983. McDavid has had 10 multipoint performances through his first 11 games this postseason and leads the League with 25 points (six goals, 19 assists).