Kailer Yamamoto scored twice on his 20th birthday, leading the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames Saturday afternoon at Rogers Place.
LISTEN BELOW: Todd McLellan
The Oilers scored first when Jujhar Khaira sniped one on the power play before the game was four minutes old. The Flames dominated the period after that.
Johnny Gaudreau converted a rebound on a power play to tie it 1-1. Sam Bennett and Elias Lindholm added goals 2:18 apart late in the period. The shots in the first were 19-5 Calgary.
The Oilers were shorthanded for 4:03 straight late in the first and early in the second but were able to get through it unscathed. Connor McDavid scored on the power play with 12:39 remaining in the second to pull the Oilers within a goal. About eight minutes later, Yamamoto’s centring pass was deflected in by a diving Matthew Tkachuk, giving Yamamoto his 5th goal of the pre-season. The game was tied 3-3 after two despite the Flames having a 32-13 advantage in shots on goal.
LISTEN BELOW: Connor McDavid
With the teams playing four-on-four, Yamamoto drove the net and nudged in a loose puck to put the Oilers ahead 3:37 into the third.
Cam Talbot made 40 saves for the win. Mike Smith stopped 17 for Calgary. The Oilers were two for three on the power play while the Flames were one from seven.
The Oilers, 6-1 in the pre-season, will play the Cologne Sharks in Germany on Wednesday.