GAME STORY: Oilers 7, Flames 3

CALGARY, AB - They were playing the Flames but it was the Oilers power play that was on fire Wednesday as Edmonton scored three goals with the man advantage in a dominant 7-3 victory.

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FIRST BLOOD

After not scoring until the midway point of the second period against the Flames on Monday, the Oilers got off to a much faster start in the rematch as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made it 1-0 just 4:39 after the opening puck-drop. With Edmonton applying pressure in the attacking zone, former Oilers forward Milan Lucic's clearing attempt landed right on the stick of Connor McDavid in the high slot and the captain zipped a pass over to Nugent-Hopkins who beat a helpless Jacob Markstrom for his 11th goal of the season.

PLAY OF THE GAME

The goal itself by Dominik Kahun was a great shot, but the pass from Leon Draisaitl was truly magnificent. The Oilers extended their lead to 3-0 at 8:39 of the middle frame as Kahun carried the puck into the Calgary zone, had it stolen by Mikael Backlund, stole it right back from him and knocked it over to Tyson Barrie, who found Draisaitl in the slot for a no-look, through-the-legs pass back to Kahun for a rocket one-timer and his fifth goal of the season.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Mike Smith turned aside 30 shots on the night to record his 10th victory in 14 starts this season, including a pair of saves on one-timers by Dillon Dube and Sean Monahan during a Flames flurry in the middle frame.

TURNING POINT

Elias Lindholm's goal got the Flames on the board midway through the second period to make it 3-1 heading into the final frame, but McDavid's power-play marker just 1:50 into the third set off Edmonton's run of four straight goals to clinch the lopsided victory. The captain took a feed from Barrie - who finished with four assists - and beat Markstrom five-hole for his team-leading 18th of the season.

TOP PERFORMER

Draisaitl assisted on three of Edmonton's six goals for his 30th, 31st and 32nd helpers of the season, bringing him up to 49 points and further solidifying his second-place standing in the NHL scoring race, as he's now seven up on Chicago's Patrick Kane in third and seven back of McDavid for the league lead.

FACT CHECK

Per Sportsnet Stats, with his assist on Nugent-Hopkins' opening goal, McDavid has recorded at least one point in nine of his last 10 Battle of Alberta games, including three on Wednesday for six goals and eight assists in the six meetings between the provincial rivals so far this season.
Per NHL PR, Barrie became the third Oilers defenceman in the last 20 years to collect four points in a regular-season game, joining Oscar Klefbom (April 6, 2017) and Chris Pronger (Dec. 31, 2005).

NEXT UP

The Oilers are headed home after three games on the road but they won't get any time to rest as they'll host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday back at Rogers Place. Friday will be Edmonton's rest day before another matchup with the Jets on Saturday as part of Hockey Night in Canada. The Oilers get right back in the air on Sunday as they'll fly to Montreal for three in a row against the Canadiens.

PARTING WORDS

"Our power play helped us out a lot; they were good when we needed them," said Zack Kassian, who returned to the Oilers lineup after missing 17 games with a hand injury and scored the team's seventh goal. "It's crazy how the momentum swings once the big guys take over. It just trickles down the lineup. From top to bottom, we were solid tonight, from Smitty on out, and we have to keep that going if we want to keep having success."

"The points are nice, but the wins are the important thing," said Barrie, whose 28 points put him atop the NHL scoring leaders among defencemen. "With team success comes personal success and I think that's a big part of it. We're looking to keep it going."
"It's pretty incredible, the skill we have on this team," Barrie continued when asked about Edmonton's three goals in six minutes to start the third period. "It's world-class, as good as it gets. I think we played the right way the whole game. We talked in between the second and third about coming out and having a great start to the third and not giving them any life."
"You're expecting a really tight game, so every goal is a meaningful goal," Head Coach Dave Tippett said of his team's early 2-0 lead. "If you can get a lead, that's usually a big advantage. When you get on the board early, your team gets a little jump in them and away you go. I liked the way we started the game."