Mike Smith made 28 saves to lead the Calgary Flames past the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 Tuesday night.
The Oilers had won the previous seven meetings in the Battle of Alberta. It’s the eighth time they’ve been shut out this season.
Head coach Todd McLellan was happy with the overall effort, even as the Oilers three-game winning streak came to an end.
“Not overly disappointed in the effort, disappointed in the outcome.”
LISTEN: Todd McLellan on 630 CHED
The first period was scoreless though both teams had chances. Smith made a pad save on Jesse Puljujarvi. Just seconds later, Mikael Backlund hit the post at the other end. Zack Kassian jammed the puck under Smith’s pad and into the net with 5:55 to go in the period, but the referee had already blown the whistle.
Johnny Gaudreau opened the scoring 5:18 into the second period, lifting a backhand right under the crossbar. The Oilers applied more pressure as the period went on but Smith made several excellent saves.
“He’s a big guy, so he takes up a lot of the net. And he’s pretty athletic,” forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said about Smith. “So when you have a guy like that who’s athletic and big, it’s tough to beat them when they’re on.
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“Obviously he was on tonight.”
LISTEN: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on 630 CHED
Smith kept it up in the third. Early, he got his blocker on a one-time shot from Nugent-Hopkins. On the same shift, he denied Connor McDavid who cut in behind the defence and tried to beat Smith five-hole. Dougie Hamilton was called for interference on McDavid with 1:53 left. The Oilers pulled Cam Talbot with 90 seconds left for a six-on-four skater advantage, but they couldn’t find the tying goal.
Talbot, who also made several good stops, took the loss with 31 saves.
The Oilers’ fall to 30-35-4 on the season. They’ll host San Jose Wednesday night.
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