McDavid scores twice, Oilers battle past Flames

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid scored twice to lead the Edmonton Oilers to an 8-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.

Kailer Yamamoto had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who have won two straight games since losing 4-3 in a shootout at home to the Flames on Wednesday.

Zack Kassian, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Caleb Jones, Sam Gagner and Gaetan Haas also scored. Leon Draisaitl had four assists.

Oilers goalie Mike Smith made 15 saves and recorded the win even though he was ejected from the game with 24 seconds left in the second period for a secondary fight with Flames netminder Cam Talbot.

Mikko Koskinen played the final 20:24 of the game in net for the Oilers and stopped all eight shots he faced.

Buddy Robinson, Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk scored for the Flames. Mark Giordano had two assists.

David Rittich started in net for Calgary, but was pulled 3:18 into the second period after allowing four goals on 17 shots. Talbot then made 21 saves in a relief appearance before being ejected from the game for the secondary fight with Smith. Rittich then went back in and made nine more saves.

The Oilers opened the scoring 29 seconds into the game when Yamamoto picked up a rebound and slid a shot past a sprawling Rittich.

Just 36 seconds later Kassian took a pass from Josh Archibald and lifted a shot in the top-right corner over Rittich’s glove.

The Flames had a great chance to score a short time later when Smith ventured behind his net to play the puck, but had to scramble to get back into position before he extended his stick to stop Johnny Gaudreau.

Robinson pulled Calgary within a goal at 12:42 of the first when he took a pass from Gaudreau before chipping the puck over Smith’s right pad and into the net. It was his first goal as a Flame and first since scoring against the Florida Panthers as a member of the Ottawa Senators on Apr. 17, 2016.

McDavid restored Edmonton’s two-goal lead at 15:33 by snapping a shot from the slot through a screen and over Rittich’s blocker.

McDavid added his second of the game 3:18 into the second. Rittich got a piece of the shot with his right arm, but the puck still got past him.

The Flames fought back within a goal as Tkachuk beat Smith off a feed from Andrew Mangiapane at 4:35 of the second, before Lindholm banked the puck off the Oilers netminder’s leg and into the net from behind the goal line at 10:14.

The Oilers responded 83 seconds later when Nugent-Hopkins scored thanks to a great pass from Yamamoto.

Jones then put Edmonton up 6-3 at 15:58 of the second when his slap shot from the point through traffic found its way into the net.

Tempers flared with 24 seconds left before the second intermission when Gagner poked a puck that was under Talbot into the net.

Although the goal was immediately waved off, several skirmishes broke out including a fight between Tkachuk and Ethan Bear and another at center ice between Smith and Talbot.

The teams were subsequently sent to their respective rooms and the remaining 24 seconds were played just prior to the start of the third period.

The Oilers scored the only two goals of the third as Gagner snapped a shot that fooled Rittich shortside at 13:16, before Haas scored on a penalty shot with 1:57 remaining in regulation.

UP NEXT

Oilers: At Arizona on Tuesday.

Flames: Host San Jose on Tuesday.