Flames edge Oilers 9-6 in wild Battle of Alberta opener
Game 1 of the Battle of Alberta lived up to the hype - and more.
The Calgary Flames won a 9-6 barn burner over the Edmonton Oilers in the opening contest of Round 2 between the provincial rivals Wednesday.
The 15 combined goals are the most in a Stanley Cup Playoff game since 1993 and three shy of tying the all-time record of 18. It's only the ninth contest in postseason history with at least 15 goals.
| Game Result | Year | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kings def. Oilers 10-8 | 1982 | 18 |
| Penguins def. Flyers 10-7 | 1989 | 17 |
| Oilers def. Kings 13-3 | 1987 | 16 |
| Kings def. Flames 12-4 | 1990 | 16 |
| Blackhawks def. Habs 8-7 | 1973 | 15 |
| North Stars def. Bruins 9-6 | 1981 | 15 |
| Oilers def. Blackhawks 10-5 | 1985 | 15 |
| Kings def. Flames 9-6 | 1993 | 15 |
| Flames def. Oilers 9-6 | 2022 | 15 |
The Flames are also the first team to score nine goals in a playoff game since the Pittsburgh Penguins scored 10 against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012. The Oilers own the record with 13 in 1987.
The game initially looked like it was going to be a blowout for Calgary. The Flames owned leads of 5-1 and 6-2 before the Oilers stormed back to eventually tie it at 6-6. Calgary then scored three unanswered goals to put the contest away.
"There were probably six different games out there," Flames head coach Darryl Sutter said postgame, according to Sportsnet's Eric Francis.
"We were told it was a boring series last time, so I told the players yesterday we’ve got to score seven-to-10 goals today because they'd probably score five-to-eight to win, so that’s what we did," Sutter added.
In fact, the Flames scored more goals on Wednesday against Edmonton than they did in their first four games combined in Round 1 against the Dallas Stars.
Matthew Tkachuk led the way offensively for Calgary, completing his hat trick with an empty-netter. Blake Coleman also potted two goals, while Andrew Mangiapane, Rasmus Andersson, and Johnny Gaudreau recorded three points apiece.
Connor McDavid's four points and Leon Draisaitl's three led the way offensively for the Oilers. Zach Hyman also chipped in with a pair of tallies.