GAME RECAP: Oilers 7, Flames 2

EDMONTON, AB - Winger Connor Brown scored a pair of goals and added an assist, while captain Connor McDavid recorded a four-point night in a dominant 7-2 victory for the Edmonton Oilers over the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

After McDavid notched his third tally of the preseason in the opening six minutes of the first period, the club's enigmatic leader provided the set-up on Brown's first goal in Blue & Orange that came off a one-timer almost two minutes later before the Flames made things interesting with quick strikes from Nikita Zadorov and Walker Duehr prior to the first intermission.

However, it would be all Edmonton the rest of the way, with the hosts recording five unanswered goals and outshooting Calgary 34-10 over the final 40 minutes after trailing 10-8 on the shot clock following the first period.

Centre Lane Pederson notched his first Oilers goal on a breakaway just two minutes into a three-goal middle frame for Edmonton that included tallies from Draisaitl and Brown before Evander Kane and Raphael Lavoie wrapped up a five-goal victory for the Blue & Orange with third-period markers.

The Oilers conclude their pre-season schedule on Friday night with a visit from the Seattle Kraken.

FIRST PERIOD

After a strong start to their night, the Oilers opened the door for their provincial rivals to find their way back into the game.

The Oilers top-unit power play hasn't exactly performed to last season's standards during this preseason, which can be expected this early in the exhibition stage of the campaign, so it was a welcomed sight to see the special teams' unit – consisting of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman – get on the board early against the Flames.

After Draisaitl whiffed on a one-timer, the German sent a cross-ice feed to McDavid before the captain walked low and sniped a short-side effort from an incredibly tight angle over the right shoulder of Dan Vladar at the near post for his third pre-season goal.

"I thought they had a lot of good looks. It's still not perfectly smooth the way they might want it, and that's okay," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said of the Oilers top power-play unit. "There's value in seeing live fire; seeing somebody else in a different jersey try and solve some of the things that we can do. I thought it was a productive day. They got enough reps on it and we found goals from two different units today, so it's a positive for the team going forward."

The Connor Connection of Connor Brown and Connor McDavid could prove to be a fruitful partnership for the Blue & Orange this season after both forwards spent two seasons together in the OHL as members of the Erie Otters from 2012-14.

On Wednesday, the pair rekindled some of that junior magic to double Edmonton's advantage.

"It might be more fun [than before]," Brown said of playing alongside McDavid. "He's everywhere, and when he's on his game like that, he's got a puck on the string and it's fun to be out there with him."

Brown picked up his first-ever goal for Edmonton from between the circles when the winger was delivered a nice feed from McDavid at 7:36 of the opening period – just over two-and-a-half minutes after the captain opened the scoring.

"I think it's reading and reacting off him," he added. "Obviously, he's making a lot of guys miss and he's moving quickly, so it's just trying to build that timing."

Brown is building back up from a torn ACL last October when playing for the Washington Capitals, and tonight's goal is certainly something extra to build on for the 29-year-old who wears No. 28 for Edmonton.

"We think [Brown] can be a very important player in our forward group, but we were going to be patient because we didn't know how his injury would respond," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "He put in a lot of work, especially in the summertime, to ensure that he was feeling good heading into Camp and I think we've managed him in the right manner.

"I think he's going to fit our team like a glove."

But just as the Oilers struck twice in quick succession, so did their rivals in the final five minutes.

With the puck on Nikita Zadorov's stick in the Calgary zone just as Cody Ceci exited the box from a tripping penalty, the Calgary defender rushed up the ice, crossed the blueline and sent a long wrist shot that beat Stuart Skinner far side to pull one back for the Flames.

Calgary tied things up just before the final two-minute mark of the opening period when Martin Pospisil created a turnover for Evan Bouchard below the goal line before Walker Duehr lined up a one-timer on an open look out front of Skinner's net.

SECOND PERIOD

There was no debate about which direction the ice was tilted in the second period.

By the time the Oilers had regained their lead by a three-goal margin once we reached the halfway mark of the frame at Rogers Place, they'd found the back of the net on five of their 14 total shots. Edmonton would hold a sizeable 26-18 shot advantage at the end of 40 minutes, with a 5-2 lead over the Flames the result of a dominant period.

Centre Lane Pederson found a wide-open avenue to earn a breakaway and score his first Oilers goal of the preseason just over two minutes out from the intermission.

Evander Kane provided the pass that sent Pederson in on an uncontested breakaway, where he fired a quick snapshot under the blocker of Vladar to put Edmonton ahead early in the period.

Leon Draisaitl lifted the Oilers back into a two-goal lead with a far-side wrist shot from the top of the circles, with the defensive pairing of Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse picking up the helpers.

The Connor Connection continued its production at 6:20 of the second period – this time off a hard-working takeaway from McDavid right in front of the Flames net before he poked it across the crease to Brown for a simple finish that went down as the Etobicoke, Ont. product's second tally of the night.

"I'm just grateful to be back to full health, to be playing again and playing with this group too. It's a special group," Brown said. "It's a bonus to be able to celebrate a couple."

THIRD PERIOD

Things kept getting worse for Calgary, and Edmonton wasn't about to lay off.

With pressure from the Oilers forecheck almost 11 minutes into the final frame, Vladar was forced into sending a clearance away from his crease and up the other side of their end. The problem was, it was McDavid who was waiting to pick up the botched attempt at relieving pressure.

McDavid threw a pass back the way it came to Kane at the back post, and with the netminder trying to make up for his error, the Oilers winger was able to clean up the play and deposit the puck into an empty net with Vladar sliding out of place through the crease.

Before the final five minutes of regulation, Lavoie made it a five-goal game with his second of the preseason off a snapshot out front that was orchestrated by McDavid, who put the puck on the Chambly, Que. product's blade for his fourth helper of the evening.

"It went great. We had a great game overall as a team and it's just icing on the cake at the end there," Lavoie said. "I got a goal, so it's a good team win and sets us up for the regular season."

"I've said I have to adapt my game, but at the end of the day I'm a shooter and I see the game as a shooter. That's how I want to contribute to this team, and it's good to know that I'm able to do that."

PARTING WORDS

Brown on if he would've been surprised a few months ago if you told him this is where he'd be by now in his recovery:

"No, I think that you have to have trust in the process and I tried to stick to that. I just did everything I possibly could to lead me to where I am now, so patience can be tough throughout rehab, but all that patience has kind of paid off. It's nice to be feeling good."

Brown on the parts of his game beyond offence that are evolving as he continues his return from injury:

"I feel like I fit in with the way we want to play here really well, and so I think penalty killing has been a good adjustment because of the style we kill. I think it was nice to be out there with Nuge. I think he and I can have some chemistry on the kill, and it's been good. When you get back to action, you want to make sure you're checking all the boxes of being in the right spots and taking care of the team game first. So now that I feel like I'm back, it's nice to be able to pot a few."

Brown on the experience so far of playing in Oil Country:

"I'm loving it. I think the passion that this city has for their team and what this organization, what this team, means to the city, it's felt in this room and it's felt in the organization. It's such a storied franchise. The guys that have come through this room, it's an honour and a privilege being here."

Lavoie on his evolving role in hopes of claiming an NHL roster spot with Edmonton:

"Bringing more physicality, blocking shots, getting in lanes, being really reliable, and handing off a good shift when the big guys get on the ice, so those are the major points in my game plan for the game."

"I'm just trying to get in this room, and then we'll see from there. I feel like I'm playing well. I'm making a little bit of mistakes here and there, but I feel like my game's in a good spot right now and trying to build from it."