Mike Smith made 28 saves and Johnny Gaudreau had the winner as the Calgary Flames edged the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 on Tuesday night, ending a seven-game losing streak against their provincial rival.
It was a superb bounce-back performance for Smith in his second game after missing a month with a lower-body injury. Smith was beaten four times on 26 shots in Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders.
Calgary (35-26-10) remains within two points of both Dallas and Colorado, who occupy the two wild card spots in the Western Conference.
The Flames opened the night three points back of Los Angeles for third in the Pacific Division.
Cam Talbot made 31 saves as Edmonton (30-35-4) had its three-game win streak snapped.
The most dangerous Oiler all night was Connor McDavid, who entered the night on a seven-game point streak (six goals, seven assists) and with 18 goals in his last 19 games. But despite a team-high five shots and several other set-ups, McDavid could not solve Smith.