The Calgary Flames scored three second period goals on the way to a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night at Rogers Place.
Mikko Koskinen made the play of the period in the first. Johnny Gaudreau’s shot rattled off the post and Koskinen and was headed over the line, but Koskinen reached around his back and snared it with his glove.
The Flames took control in the second period. Gaudreau scored 43 seconds into the frame. Mark Giordano flipped home a loose puck in front for a power play goal at 7:29. Then at 15:29, Oliver Kylington ripped home a one-timer.
“For us to play in this atmosphere, we’ve got to be error-free,” Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said. “I thought we played hard but we made too many errors.”
LISTEN BELOW: Ken Hitchcock
The Oilers finally got on the board with 17.8 seconds left in the period with the teams playing four-on-four. Jesse Puljujarvi worked the puck to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who beat David Rittich for his 16th of the season.
Derek Ryan broke away shorthanded for the Flames early in the third and looked like he had a sure goal on a deke, but Koskinen came up with a desperation arm save.
Less than a minute later, Milan Lucic tipped in a Puljujarvi shot to pull the Oilers within a goal. With just under six minutes to go, Caleb Jones turned the puck over to Mikael Backlund, who sniped a shot right inside the post.
“It happens,” Jones said of his turnover. “I made the play, he knocked it out of mid-air. I could have probably turned and made a harder play out of the zone right there. I’ll learn from it.”
“Those are lessons that, unfortunately, you’ve got to go through,” Hitchcock said. “He’ll learn from it and he’ll get better from it.”
Sean Monahan added a late power play goal to ice the game.
Lucic now has four goals in his last six games. This was the first win for the Flames in their last six games at Rogers Place.
LISTEN BELOW: Milan Lucic
“We didn’t really generate too much,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “We didn’t really create too many chances for ourselves.”
The Oilers, 23-22-3, will host Carolina on Sunday. Catch the game on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 6 p.m. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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