EDMONTON — Connor McDavid recorded a pair of assists in his NHL pre-season debut as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Monday in a pre-season split-squad game.
Andrew Miller, Leon Draisaitl, Anton Lander and Nail Yakupov scored for the Oilers.
McDavid, the first overall draft pick this summer, was named the game’s first star.
Oliver Kylington and Markus Granlund replied for the Flames.
At the same time the game in Edmonton was taking place, another split-squad game between the two Alberta rivals was played in Calgary, with the Oilers winning that game 3-1.
Cam Talbot, who came to the Oilers in an off-season trade with the New York Rangers, got the start in net for Edmonton, while Karri Ramo was in goal for the Flames.
The Oilers broke the deadlock with five-and-a-half minutes to play in the opening frame as Miller snuck a shot under Ramo.
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Calgary responded less than a minute later as defenceman Kylington, a 2015 second-round pick, carried the puck up ice and beat Talbot with a knuckler to make it 1-1 after 20 minutes.
READ MORE: Oilers get their goaltender, trade picks to Rangers for Cam Talbot
The Oilers changed goalies midway through the second, with Laurent Brossoit coming in and allowing a goal on the first shot he faced as Andrej Sekera coughed up the puck on the power play and Granlund blasted a shot to the top corner for the short-handed score.
Mason McDonald came into the Calgary net to start the third.
Edmonton tied the game up with 6:25 left in the third as McDavid chipped a backhand pass in front to Draisaitl who showed good hand scoring from in tight.
The Oilers then took a 3-2 lead with 5:19 remaining as Lander battled to get loose shorthanded and made the most of it, beating McDonald with a high wrist shot.
Edmonton put the game away with an empty-netter as McDavid fed Yakupov for a goal.
Notes: Among the Oilers suiting up for the split squad game in Calgary instead were forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Benoit Pouliot and Ben Scrivens.
The Flames kept many of their top players in Calgary, including the likes of Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Jiri Hudler, Michael Frolik, Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton.
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