Zach Heyman and Leon Drysittel scored two important breakaway goals midway through the third half as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Friday to tie the game in Alberta.
The series between the two opponents is now tied 1-1 as it travels 300km north to Edmonton for Game 3 on Sunday.
The Flames had led 3-1, but Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit in the second half before Hyman and Driesitl stunned the Flame in the third by just two minutes.
“I think we missed a lot of chances tonight,” Flams coach Daryl Sutter said. Jacob Markstrom was too good for us, but the Oilers’ individual talent made the difference in their goals. We didn’t play much against five tonight and that kind of situation is clearly in their favour. »
Draisaitl and Duncan Keith finished the match with a goal and two assists each while Conor McDavid, who came in handy especially when the Oilers were trying to fall behind, scored a goal and assist. The star player leads the league with 20 points in nine matches since the start of the qualifiers.
“He takes his game to another level,” Hyman said of McDavid. It’s hard to do this for him, but he’s pushing his own limits now. This is what premium players do. He leads our team in every aspect. It does it all and is the main reason we are here. »
Yvan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers.
Michael Stone, Brett Ritchie and Tyler Toffoli were the Flames’ top scorers.
This time without a doubt, MacDavid is undressing everyone!
As if the scenario of Game 1 – won by Calgary 9-6 – repeating itself, the Flames beat Mike Smith twice in the first seven shots to take a quick 2-0 lead.
“It’s obviously not the start we were hoping for, but we’ve responded well,” MacDavid said. We fought well throughout the match. We won several battles, unlike the first match, and defended ourselves better. »
Keith responded with his first goal since November 1, by accepting a single pass from McDavid, who was blocked by Rasmus Anderson.
Then Tyler Toffoli regained Calgary’s lead with two goals in the strong match at 2:04 of the second half.
Draisaitl thought to close the gap after 29 seconds by pushing back into the net after McDavid’s stunning breakthrough, but the goal was disallowed as the Oilers captain interfered with Markstrom’s action.
McDavid rolled up his sleeves and cut the lead by himself in half of 61 seconds after Toffoli scored on a pass and went with Keith.
Evan Bouchard took advantage of a four-minute penalty for Sixty to equalize the power of play before the end of the second.
After tightening play in the first half of the third period, Hyman gave the Oilers their first lead in the series by scoring goals cut short in the middle of the frame. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins created a spin that allowed Heyman to escape and score with a shot at the top of the net.
“Nogent Hopkins did a great defensive job to break the match,” Heymann said. I saw the ice in front of me and sped up. I had a partial breakup earlier in the game and didn’t want to fake it and miss it. I managed to leave a good shot to frustrate him. »
Flames almost equalized the match moments later with equal force, but a hasty whistle from the referee denied Toffoli a second goal.
Drysittel made it 5-3 when he hit the target in a breakaway less than two minutes later.
Stone takes advantage of Hyman’s broken wand
Smith looks bad… already 2-0 flame
Keith benefits from McDavid’s efforts
Markstrom saved by whistle!
Toffoli awakens the numerical advantage of Flames
McDavid hampers, no goal!
Bouchard loosens the disc, Markstrom can’t help it