PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Flames

The Edmonton Oilers wrap up back-to-back games at Rogers Place on Saturday night with the Battle of Alberta against the Calgary Flames.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet & Hockey Night in Canada at 8:00 p.m. MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

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PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Flames

EDMONTON, AB – Fight back (against) the Flames.

An immediate bounce back from a frustrating defeat to the Minnesota Wild on Friday won’t come easy for the Edmonton Oilers, who’ll wrap up back-to-back games at Rogers Place this weekend on Hockey Night in Canada against the Calgary Flames in the Battle of Alberta.

Edmonton will be looking for a quick response on Saturday against their provincial rivals in their third of four meetings this season following their 4-2 loss to Minnesota last night, where they dominated over the final two periods with a 37-13 shot advantage but couldn’t put it together over the full 60 minutes to come up with the victory.

“I thought it was as flat a first period as we've had,” captain Connor McDavid said.

“Credit to us for getting ourselves going there in the second. I thought were able to generate a little bit of our own momentum and I thought the PK helped with that. Our best period was our third period and we found a way to give up three there, so I thought we were able to build our game and give ourselves a chance, but just didn't come through.”

Edmonton’s penalty kill on the night went 4-for-4 to keep their opponents’ power play off the scoresheet for the first time in eight games, helping limit damage in the opening 40 minutes but also impacting the ice time for the likes of Evander Kane (15:18), Corey Perry (9:00) and Dylan Holloway (9:25), who spent all their time on Friday at even strength.

“I think overall, it was probably 40 out of the 60, but also the first half of the game we had four kills,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “That takes a lot of the rhythm out of our game, especially when our best players aren't on the ice for the penalty kill. It makes it tougher for them to play and for our team get things going."

Edmonton’s power play converted both of their opportunities through Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman in the second and third periods as they peppered Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson for 24 shots in the final frame to Minnesota's seven.

Edmonton couldn’t bury their chances, while Minnesota were able to score on both sides of the mid-way mark of the third period and ice the game through Mats Zuccarello on an empty net with 1:27 left.

“I thought we did a lot of good things. One thing I didn't think we did well was finish,” Knoblauch added. “There were a lot of pucks that either hit goal posts or trickled wide or were laying around the goal crease. Sometimes those go in, some nights they don't, and tonight I think we were unfortunate in that area.”

The Oilers finally had a strong second period that rolled into a frenetic final frame, where they’ve outscored opponents this year by a +21 goal differential.

But for Connor McDavid, it’s about staying locked in for all three periods and keeping the low points to a minimum.

“It's just being focused and ready for three hours and not having any lulls,” he said. “It takes a lot of concentration, takes a lot of focus, but we're paid to do that. So our group has just had little lulls, whether it's the start or in the second, and those can't happen. If you want to be a good team, you got to play all three periods and we haven't done that in a bit here.”

The Oilers will now face their rivals the Flames who've won five of their last six road games, outscoring their opponents 23-11. Calgary has allowed two goals or fewer in five of those six away contests and are a top-five penalty kill in the NHL (83.0 percent), while their power play has struggled in 28th place (14.3 percent).

Jacob Markstrom has now won six of his last eight starts after Nazem Kadri scored the OT winner against the Bruins in a 3-2 win on Thursday that was Calgary's second in a row following a three-game losing streak. Oliver Kylington missed 129 games due to personal reasons, but the defenceman now has goals in back-to-back games for the Flames after having not scored since Apr. 18, 2022.

Edmonton has won four straight matchups in the Battle of Alberta and will try to get into a rhythm with another victory over their rivals on Saturday as they navigate the busiest stretch of the season with 28 games in the next 54 days.

"I like playing more games," McDavid said. "I think guys get into a good rhythm, a good routine. The rest is nice, but sometimes you can lose your game there. As we've seen since coming back from the break, it hasn't been the same, so I'm looking forward to playing some consistent hockey."