PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Flames (Game 4)

The Edmonton Oilers look to utilize the energy of Rogers Place and take control of their second-round Battle of Alberta series with a victory over the Calgary Flames in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet and CBC or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630CHED.
Video: OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 4 vs CGY

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 4 vs. CGY
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Kassian & McDavid
RECENT VIDEOS
Spectacular NWT Play of the Week
RAW | Coach Woodcroft 05.23.22
RAW | Draisaitl & Barrie 05.23.22
Edmonton Junior Oilers Announced
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Flames Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: A test of your best
BLOG: Heavy artillery
BLOG: Monday's media avail content
VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Tuesday's game on Sportsnet & CBC at 7:30 PM MT.
News and notes from Oilers practice at Rogers Place on Monday, where the Oilers spoke to bringing their best game possible into another chance in a Game 4 to take control of a series in these Stanley Cup Playoffs.
**>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG**
EDMONTON, AB - The Oilers are looking to draw off the experiences gained from their series against the Kings, to help propel the team towards a Game 4 victory against the Flames.
So far, the Battle of Alberta has followed a similar narrative to their first-round series. The Oilers lost the first game, only to go up 2-1 with a chance to put a stranglehold on the series in the fourth game. The goal tonight is to flip the original script and avoid letting the Flames back into the series at Rogers Place tonight.
"We took a lot of learned lessons from that LA series, we have to keep our foot on the gas," Zack Kassian said. "We know that it's a pivotal game and we have to have the right mindset heading into it."
"It's only been 10 games or so, but there's been lots of ups and downs and just finding a way to maintain that even-keel is key. Not get too high or too low," Connor McDavid added. "It's a situation where we're in our home building and we have a chance to go up two in a series. It's a huge game for our group."
When it comes to Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, his focus and approach remains the same as it has throughout his tenure with the Oilers. The locker room leader continues to drill the the details and the small improvements, hoping that they will continue to stack and build as the Oilers advance throughout their playoff run.
"The most important thing is just maintaining this mindset of being the best we can be every day," Woodcroft said. "We want to play our best game of the series tonight and yesterday was about that, today is about that, and for me I think it comes down to doing simple things really well. That's where we've put our focus here the last little bit."
AVOID THE SHENANIGANS
One way the Oilers look to accomplish a Game 4 victory is avoiding getting caught up in the antics that ran rampant throughout the third period of Sunday's game. Late in the final frame, Flames forward Milan Lucic ran through Oilers goaltender Mike Smith behind the net, picking up a 10-minute misconduct for his efforts.
"You can't go near the goalie. Obviously, the score dictates a lot of the shenanigans that happen out there," Kassian said. "We won the game, we're happy we won the game, today's a new game and it's a big game for us."
Video: PRE-RAW | Kassian, McDavid 05.24.22
Despite all the discussion from the fans and the media regarding the incident, the Oilers remain focused on an vital moment in the series. There is an understanding in the room that getting caught up in the narrative of revenge could get the Oilers away from their gameplan and make becoming a distracted team a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"That's the narrative you guys are putting out, we're here to win a series," Kassian said. "The way we played the last two games, we need to continue to play that way. We need to play disciplined; we need to play fast, and we need to stay out of the crap."
There is no underestimating the Oilers provincial rival. The Flames finished the regular season with the NHL's sixth best record with 111 points on the season. Despite the advantage tipping in the Oilers favour, there is an understanding that this series is far from over.
"Let's be honest, we're in the second round of the playoffs, we know they're not going to roll over and die," Kassian said. "It's important for us to keep our focus and continue to push and get better collectively as a group. We have to start aggressive and we can't sit back against a Calgary team that has a lot of firepower."
FULL TEAM EFFORT
With all the talk about the dominance of the reunited pairing of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers head coach has liked what he has seen so far from his entire group.
"I see our group embracing a level of simplicity to our game. As I said earlier, the better we can do simple things, the better it sets us up for success as a team," Woodcroft said. "I see 20 players contributing and everyone pulling on the same rope, willing to do hard things, willing to sacrifice in order to get the win."
It isn't exactly surprising that two of the league's best players are helping propel the Oilers in the post-season, with 42 points combined through the playoffs first 10 games, but the team has seen contributions from all over the ice. Zach Hyman has scored in every game of the series, the pairing of Evan Bouchard and Duncan Keith have three goals in the first three games, and Evander Kane is fresh off his second career playoff hat trick.
The performances up and down the lineup has allowed Woodcroft to deviate from a template that helped proved the Oilers with so much success down the stretch. However, the Oilers coach made it clear he's not afraid to mix it up at a moment's notice.
"Think of all the permutations of lines we've used the last three months. I would say one thing is that we have a belief in flexibility, in trying to find a way to attack that day's business to try and find a win on that day," Woodcroft said. "For us, I think with the amount of really good hockey players at our disposal, we're unafraid to move the chess pieces around the chessboard and unafraid to draw off the amount of players we have available for us."
"We've shown different looks with 11-and-7, 12-and-6, and I said earlier in this press conference that we have a belief that we can win many ways with many different types of lineups," he added.
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 05.24.22
Whenever credit for the Oilers success gets thrust upon coach Woodcroft, he thrusts it back upon his players. There is a belief from above on everyone inside the Oilers locker room and a trust that each player can accomplish their individual responsibilities, driving the team towards their end goal.
"We have a belief that there's room for greatness from everybody in our dressing room, and there's different ways to contribute to team wins," Woodcroft said. "That's the time of year it is -- it's the wee time of year and most importantly, it's the find a way time of year. That's what our team is looking to do tonight."
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS vs. FLAMES (Game 4)
STREAM: 7:30 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet & CBC
Oilers Team Scope
The Edmonton Oilers powered themselves into a 2-1 series advantage over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night with a commanding 4-1 victory in front of their home fans at Rogers Place in Game 3 of this second-round Battle of Alberta.
Evander Kane netted a natural hat-trick in six minutes and both Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid set NHL records during the four-goal outburst from Edmonton in the middle frame. Draisaitl became the first player to record four assists in a single playoff period, while McDavid's three assists marked the captain's ninth multi-point game in the first 10 games of the post-season -- the first time in NHL that feat has been achieved.
Mike Smith made 31 saves for the victory, including taking a hard check from Milan Lucic in the third period that resulted in a five-minute charging penalty for the former Oiler and a trip to the quiet room for Smith before he made his return to raucous applause later in the frame.
Since the second period in Game 2 of the series, the Oilers have played some sound hockey outscoring the Flames 8-2 and settling their defensive game after allowing nine goals in a Game 1 defeat.
There's a level to their potential that Oilers feel they still haven't reached yet, and Tuesday night is serving as a target for the club to come in and play their best hockey of the season with a focus on learning from last series' mistake of failing to capitalize on momentum in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Kings.
"It's going to take our best game," Draisaitl said. "We've played well [Sunday], but there's another gear to our game too. We can still be better, we've shown it this season and we're going to be good [Tuesday].
"For us, our important pieces of day-to-day are on gearing our team up to play our best game tomorrow," Coach Jay Woodcroft added. "So we spent a lot of time thinking about the message we're sending to our players. We had a good meeting and we'll be ready."
Flames Team Scope
The Calgary Flames found themselves down 2-1 in their first-round series to the Dallas Stars, and the second round against Edmonton presents a similar situation.
Calgary couldn't contain the likes of McDavid, Kane and Draisaitl, who utilized the energy of their home crowd and the transition game through the neutral zone to score three very similar goals in the second period after Zach Hyman opened the scoring earlier in the period.
"You knew what was coming. They hadn't played at home in this round yet and they were going to come out hard and really play with a lot of purpose in their game, a lot of speed. And they did," Flames Head Coach Darryl Sutter said. "Marky -- in the first period -- probably made three or four saves that would have kept it no score. But I just think... Give Edmonton credit. The way they played in the neutral (zone), it fed 97's game, for sure."
The Flames hold the edge in the possession metrics, hovering around 57 per cent in possession, shot attempts and high-danger chances, but know it's all moot if they can't figure out how to contain Edmonton's top line -- most specifically, the Edmonton captain.
In order to reverse the trajectory of this series, the Flames feel the need to get back to their identity of playing an aggressive game and being better in all areas of the game that made the Oilers provincial rivals successful as Pacific Division champions and round-one winners over Dallas.
"As a group, we know the areas that we've got to get better in defending, and the areas that we've got to get better in managing the puck," Associate Coach Kirk Muller, who took media duties on Monday, said. "There were times where we chased the game last night and when you chase the game, you get tired. And when you get tired, you make mistakes."
"We know that we can be a better team in those scenarios. We've done it all year. I'm confident our group will rebound. It's a 200-foot game out there and we have to be better in all three zones. If we do that, I think it will take care of some scenarios that we've broken down in situations so far in the series."
By The Numbers
Leon Draisaitl recorded four points in a playoff game for the third time in his career on Sunday (ninth playoff game with three-plus points)... Connor McDavid recorded three points (3A) in a playoff game for the seventh time in his career... Evander Kane recorded his second-career postseason hat-trick in the second period... He became the fourth Oilers player to record multiple hat-tricks in a single postseason...
The Flames are 3-11 all-time in a best-of-seven series when trailing the series 2-1 (2-7 when starting series at home)... The Flames are 1-3 in four road games this post-season, getting outscored 13-9... The Flames are averaging 44.1 shots on goal over their last eight games... They have a plus-88 shot differential during that span... Calgary is 36-for-39 on the penalty kill this postseason... Their current 92.3 penalty-kill percentage would be their best in a single post-season in franchise history... Johnny Gaudreau had his seven-game point streak snapped in Game 3... Dating back to the regular season, the Flames have lost eight of their last nine games when he is held without a point...
Evander Kane and Matthew Tkachuk are the only players with 10-plus points and 20-plus penalty minutes this post-season... Jacob Markstrom has a 5.74 goals-against average in three games vs. the Oilers this series and a 2.65 GAA, .912 save percentage & one shutout in 10 games overall this post-season...
The Oilers are 18-3 all-time in best-of-seven series when leading 2-1 but have lost six straight Game 4's when holding a 2-1 series lead... The Oilers are averaging 4.20 goals per game this post-season, the second-most... Edmonton is 5-0 when scoring first this post-season and when leading after the second period (tied with Carolina)... Connor McDavid has more points (23) and hits (33) through 10 games these playoffs than he did in his previous 21 career post-season games... Leon Draisaitl has a point in nine of 10 games this post-season, including a point in six straight (4G, 11A)...
Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR.
FLAMES - Chris Tanev (lower body) is day-to-day; Sean Monahan (hip) is on IR; Tyler Parsons (ankle) is on IR.
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com