GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Flames 3 (Game 2)

CALGARY, AB - A short-handed snipe seals the split as we head back to Oil Country.
Zach Hyman scored the game-winning goal on a shorthanded breakaway with 9:46 remaining in the third period before Leon Draisaitl iced the game with the insurance marker in a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames in Game 2 of their second-round Battle of Alberta on Friday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Connor McDavid was magic once again, recording a goal and assist, while both Duncan Keith and Draisaitl contributed to the victory with a goal and two assists. Mike Smith made 37 saves on 40 shots in the Edmonton crease and recorded a helper of his own, providing the assist on the German's insurance marker.
Edmonton's win ties the series at 1-1 as it now shifts up Highway 2 to Edmonton for Game 3 at Rogers Place on Sunday night.

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FIRST FLAME

Jesse Puljujarvi blocked the first shot from Michael Stone at the blueline, but the follow-up effort from the Flames defender slid along the ice and went under two Oilers on the way through before beating Mike Smith to open the scoring in favour of the Flames just past the three-minute mark from opening puck drop.
The Calgary advantage was doubled exactly three minutes later when Erik Gudbranson's hard shot wasn't fully controlled to allow Brett Ritchie to clean up the rebound and score his second of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

FIGHTING BACK THE FLAMES

On a play with just over six-and-a-half minutes left in the first period orchestrated by none other than McDavid, the captain walked out from behind the net with Rasmus Andersson strapped to his side and unloaded a one-handed pass to Duncan Keith to quickly one-time beyond Jacob Markstrom over the left pad and halve Calgary's lead.
"He's a big voice in that locker room settling us down," Hyman said. "He stepped up today with a big goal, making plays and being strong defensively. He's got a lot to give."
It should've been a tie game with 3:37 on the clock before the intermission when Hyman came into the crease and poked home a loose puck under Markstrom, but an early whistle blown by the referee nullified the equalizer much to the argument of the Oilers bench despite the play going upstairs to review and returning the same verdict. The Flames would lead 2-1 through 20 minutes, but Edmonton had their platform for a fightback.
"Obviously we didn't get the start we wanted and didn't make it easy on ourselves, but we responded well," McDavid said.

KEEPING UP THE PRESSURE

A Tyler Toffoli power-play goal on a Too Many Men penalty for Edmonton early in the second period restored Calgary's two-goal lead, but there was McDavid again to dazzle with some more magic and provide an immediate response.
Number 97 dangled his way out of pressure from Flames defenceman Nikita Zadorov, leaving the blueliner in his wake before McDavid completed a give-and-go with Keith and hung the Markstrom out to dry with quick hands and an inside move that made it 3-2 just a minute after the Flames restored their two-goal advantage.
The Oilers equalized when they were given a four-minute powerplay on a high-sticking double minor to Stone, where Evan Bouchard had his head up to deliver a certified Bouch Bomb into the far side and tie the game inside the final five minutes of the middle frame.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Mike Smith's biggest stop came with some punishment, but it rewarded the Oilers with a powerplay. Blake Coleman bowled over the Oilers netminder right after the 40-year-old stood him up with a big point-blank save in the final minute of the third period to mark a critical save at a critical time with the game all square at three. Beyond that, he was lights out in the final 10 minutes of regulation when the Flames began to ramp up the pressure.
"I thought Mike was excellent today," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "When we broke down, he made the big save when we needed it. Talk about someone with an unbelievable resume and great experiences to pass on to our group."

REACHING (HY)GHER GROUND

Down a man on the penalty kill, the Oilers got their breakthrough.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins kicked the puck up off a broken play to Hyman, who wheeled away up the ice with energy reminiscent of Fernando Pisani in 2006 and sniped the go-ahead goal over the left shoulder of Markstrom with 9:46 left in regulation.
"My stick broke on the first goal, we got a goal called back, and they got one iffy one called back too," Hyman said. "You just got to keep working. It's the playoffs. It doesn't matter, all that matters is you get the win. We did a good job battling down two goals early in the second off a Too Many Men penalty, and we just worked."

The Flames couldn't collect themselves, and Smith's backhand rim around the boards went all the way to the neutral zone where Leon Draisaitl had the speed to beat Zadorov, head in on a breakaway of his own, and notch the much-needed insurance with a shot off the far-side post and in 2:22 after Hyman put the Oilers ahead.
"He's an elite player. He's able to score," Hyman said. "He made a great play and that was a huge goal for us."
Edmonton saw out a 6-on-4 situation late to seal the deal in hostile territory and earn a split heading back to Oil Country for Game 3 on Sunday night.

TOP PERFORMER

McDavid continued his torrent pace this post-season, recording another multi-point game to signify his fifth straight game with multiple points after becoming the eighth player in NHL history to record seven multi-point games in the first eight games of the playoffs with a goal and three assists in Game 1.
"His measure of physicality that he plays with. His fearlessness to go to hard areas. The way he makes people around him better," Woodcroft said.
"What I saw was a leader, who when the game was on the line was prepared to be in a shooting lane. When the goalie's pulled and we're killing a penalty, he was out there for a reason and he put his body on his line so that we would win. That type of self-sacrifice is what it takes to win come this time of year."
The captain has now recorded an unreal 20 points (6G, 14A) in nine games in this season's Stanley Cup Playoffs to become the fastest active player to reach 20 points in a single post-season since Mario Lemieux in 1992.

PARTING WORDS

McDavid on the Oilers shaking off a bad start and a few disallowed goals:
"[Smith] played great. Just a battler. He played great in there and made some big saves, made a big play there to Leon to spring him there. A little bit of everything for him tonight."
"Obviously the focus is Game 3 and that's all. You can't look too far ahead and it's a big one in Game 3."
McDavid on the ways the Oilers were better tonight than in Game 1:
"I just thought we battled harder, that was all. Just working, being hard on battles, winning some 50/50 pucks; we didn't win many in Game 1. I thought we did a good job of that. Obviously we defended better. We still gave up some chances, but Smitty played well."
McDavid on Hyman's game-winning shorthanded goal:
"It was a big goal. A really big goal. The special teams are a big part of the series and we got a power-play goal and a short-handed goal. It's usually a good recipe."

McDavid on the influence and play of Duncan Keith:
"[Pres. of Hockey Ops & GM Ken Holland] brought him here for a number of reasons, and his game was great tonight. His game's been good all playoffs long and he's huge for us. He's such a veteran presence back there, such a big voice in the room, and he's just been great for us. Obviously tonight was a really good one."
Hyman on the play of Connor McDavid tonight:
"He's the best player in the world and he's pushing himself. When you're the best it's easy to be comfortable. It's hard to keep pushing and challenging yourself, but he's a guy who wants to win more than anybody. He pushes himself and our team and those are the results."
Hyman on the ups and downs throughout the series' first two games:
"You got to stay off the rollercoaster. When you win a game you're feeling great and when you lose you're feeling terrible. It's easier to prepare when you lose because you don't want to have that feeling. When you win, you got to reset and have that mindset that you want to win and you don't want to lose."

Hyman on the play of Duncan Keith, who had a three-point night:
"Unfazed. That's a guy who has seen it all and done it all. Whatever defenceman award you want to say, he's done it. He's a future Hall of Famer. That's a guy that was brought in to calm the group in times when things aren't going well."
Hyman on going back to Edmonton with the series tied:
"I can't wait to get back home. It's going to be rocking, it's going to be loud and I'm excited."
Woodcroft on where the Oilers improved tonight from Game 1:
"I think we deserved to win the game tonight, based on hard effort alone. I thought we paid the price required to win a game in the second round. Our competition level was excellent, and our execution coming out of our own end was very good. We found a way to score and win the special teams battle. We scored a powerplay and shorthanded goal. Some of the goals that we gave up we were a victim of circumstance with two broken sticks. The faceoff coverage we'd like to have back. To a man, everyone was more competitive and we found a way in a tough environment to score seven goals on the road in a tough building -- two of them got called back of course -- and we cleaned up a lot of things defensively."

Woodcroft on what Duncan Keith brings to the game:
"His personhood or his presence comes through in big moments. Sometimes it's something as simple as going by the bench during a TV timeout and saying: 'We got this, take a deep breath, we're good to go here.' Sometimes it's making a big play in a big moment. I can't say enough about Duncs, his resume is Hall of Fame worthy and he'll be there one day. In terms of his ability to pass on his experiences to our group, I can't say enough."
Woodcroft on the way his team battled through moments to get the win:
"We had some things not go our way today, but I think it speaks to the resiliency and resolve in our group. It's something we've been working on for the last three months. The ability to stick with it. If you walked into our room you'd find a group of men that are wholly sure of our message, our game plan, and of what it takes to win come crunch time. We have a belief, we didn't feel like we played to that standard in Game 1 and we knew we had better."