The Edmonton Oilers have the Calgary Flames on the brink of elimination as the two clubs meet Thursday night at the Saddledome.
The Oilers, who lead the series 3-1, expect a strong effort from the Flames, who are fighting to keep their season alive. But Oilers captain Connor McDavid says the Flames won’t be the only desperate team on the ice.
“We’re desperate to close the series out,” he said. “We want to play our best game of the series and close the series out. That’s obviously our focus.”
In the history of the NHL, a team has rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a series 31 times. That includes the Montreal Canadiens rallying to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. Oilers defenceman Brett Kulak was with the Canadiens for that run.
“It’s that tricky spot,” he said. “It’s almost you talk about the two-goal lead within a game. It’s the two-game lead in the series. If teams get some success, they can start rallying on that.
“I think our job is to come out early and just come hard, match their intensity and their speed, push them on their heels and break their will.”
The Oilers expected lineup is:
Kane – McDavid – Draisaitl
Hyman – Nugent-Hopkins – Puljujarvi
Foegele – McLeod – Yamamoto
Archibald – Ryan – Kassian
Nurse – Ceci
Keith – Bouchard
Kulak – Barrie
Smith
630 CHED will have all the Game 5 action, starting with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game is at 7:30 p.m.
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