The Edmonton Oilers scored thrice in the second period on the way to a convincing 7-2 pre-season win over the Calgary Flames Wednesday night at Rogers Place.
The Oilers struck six minutes in on the power play when Connor McDavid lifted a shot from a sharp angle over the right shoulder of Flames goaltender Dan Vladar.
McDavid played set-up man less than two minutes later, sending a pass to Connor Brown for a one-timer goal.
“It might be more fun now,” Brown said after being reunited with his former Erie Otters teammate.
“He’s everywhere, and when he’s on his game like that he’s got the puck on a string — it’s fun to be out there with him.”
The Flames replied with goals from Nikita Zadorov and Walker Duehr 2:12 apart late in the first.
“We had an idea of what his strengths were,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said of Brown after the game. “I think we’ve managed him in the right manner and I think he’s going to fit our team like a glove.
“He’s got life on the bench. He’s someone that brings energy — says good things — and I think that’s contagious.”
Lane Pederson beat Vladar on a breakaway early in the second to make it 3-2 Oilers. Leon Draisaitl fired home a wrister from the top of the slot. McDavid stole the puck in front of the Flames net and passed to Brown for his second of the night.
“The reality is, our team has been working really hard on defence. So we go out in that third period and talked a lot about controlling the game and controlling the puck,” Brown said post-game.
“I thought we played the majority of the game in the offensive zone and took care of the thing. There were a lot of positives in the third.”
In third, Vladar turned the puck over to McDavid, allowing him to pass to Evander Kane, who beat the scrambling Flames keeper for a 6-2 lead. Raphael Lavoie added one more with five minutes left.
“He’s having a good camp,” Woodcroft said of Lavoie. “He’s highly competitive.
“It’s going to be competitive for that last forward spot. and we’ll see how that shakes out.”
“At the end of the day, I’m a shooter and I see my game as a shooter,” Lavoie said. “That’s how I want to contribute to this team and it’s good to know that I’m able to.”
McDavid had a goal and three assists.
The Oilers finish the pre-season on Friday with a home game against the Seattle Kraken. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 5:30 p.m. The actual game starts at 7 p.m.