EDMONTON — A flyover of two CT-155 Hawk jets from the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 4 Cold Lake fighter base after the national anthem.
A packed, sold-out football stadium of 55,411 fans dressed in toques and layers under their favorite hockey sweaters thanks to temperatures that dipped below freezing after puck drop.
A pyrotechnic-heavy, second-intermission performance from Hanna, Alberta, rock band Nickelback.
And, of course, the return of the NHL’s greatest player.
The 2023 Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium — the site of the league’s first outdoor game 20 years ago — certainly wasn’t short on pomp, circumstance and substance.
The Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 in the latest installment of the Battle of Alberta, a crucial win considering both teams were off to horrid starts to their seasons.
Connor McDavid’s return sparks the Oilers
Connor McDavid may have had only one assist in his return from a two-game absence because of an upper-body injury, but his presence was certainly felt for the Oilers. McDavid had Edmonton’s first great chance of the night when he cut in off the right wing, nearly beating Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom. He then recorded a secondary helper on Evan Bouchard’s bomb from the point before the end of the first period.
Playing mostly with running mate Leon Draisaitl and upstart winger Warren Foegele, McDavid drove play at five-on-five. The Oilers outscored the Flames 2-1 in 18:15 with the Oilers captain on the ice in that capacity. He had a 67.2 expected goals percentage, too.
McDavid’s had better performances to be sure. But he did more than enough to help the Oilers secure their first win in five games and their first home win of the season. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman, Oilers beat writer
Penalty trouble hinders Edmonton
The penalty kill had been one of many sore spots for the Oilers entering the Heritage Classic. It had been responsible for seven goals against in as many games and was working at a 74.1 percent clip — 25th in the NHL.
Its effectiveness was the same, but don’t get things confused. It saved the Oilers’ bacon on Sunday.
The Oilers sent the Flames to power play eight times, the result of careless and undisciplined infractions. Included in that mix were a pair of two-man advantages, one that spanned 1:21 and the other 1:27.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft felt the penalty issues were the only reason the Flames gained any traction in the game.
The Oilers allowed one goal on the second of them, and another on a four-on-five in the middle period — both tallies coming just before penalties were about to expire. They shut the Flames down on the other six opportunities.
Not only that, but the Oilers scored on a two-on-one rush right after the first two-man disadvantage ended. Draisaitl came out of the penalty box to set up Zach Hyman for their second goal of the game. — Nugent-Bowman
Flames continue losing streak
The Flames needed a win, badly, against their provincial rival. They were coming off a poor week with disappointing losses to the Detroit Red Wings, the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues. The latter of which saw them fail to mount a comeback following a 2-0 deficit and a third period that broke their “will.” Sunday’s result began with a first period where the Flames had no control of the game. Their second period saw a bit more resiliency. But their final period displayed a massive problem: their inability to finish is costing them games. — Julian McKenzie, Flames beat writer
Calgary’s stars aren’t padding the stats
In order for the Flames to emerge from their slide, they needed their best players to play like their best players. Some players can at least find their names on the scoresheet. Nazem Kadri entered Sunday’s game with just one assist in his last eight games and was in desperate need to ramp up his production. His power-play goal will help. MacKenzie Weegar had one goal in eight games. He responded with two primary assists. It was also hard to fault Markstrom for the goals he allowed and the most important thing is that he remained solid afterward.
The problem is, they need more.
Jonathan Huberdeau contributed an assist, but that’s as far as his contributions went. Elias Lindholm has no points in his last four games. — McKenzie
Required reading
(Photo: Derek Leung / Getty Images)
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiUWh0dHBzOi8vdGhlYXRobGV0aWMuY29tLzUwMTEzODcvMjAyMy8xMC8yOS9mbGFtZXMtb2lsZXJzLWhlcml0YWdlLWNsYXNzaWMtcmVzdWx0L9IBV2h0dHBzOi8vdGhlYXRobGV0aWMuY29tLzUwMTEzODcvMjAyMy8xMC8yOS9mbGFtZXMtb2lsZXJzLWhlcml0YWdlLWNsYXNzaWMtcmVzdWx0Lz9hbXA9MQ?oc=5
2023-10-30 03:09:34Z
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