Oilers cruise past Flames to win Heritage Classic

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 5-2 in the Heritage Classic outdoors at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday.

The result snapped Edmonton's four-game losing streak while extending Calgary's skid to five consecutive losses.

Sunday's contest marked the return of Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who missed two games with an upper-body injury. He had been given a one-to-two-week recovery timeline Oct. 22. The reigning MVP notched an assist and two shots on goal across 23:26 of ice time.

"It looked like the team that's put together 100 wins over the last couple years," McDavid said after the final buzzer, according to Sportsnet. "I'm not sure what the team was for the first seven games, but that looked a little more familiar and something that we can repeat game in and game out."

Edmonton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman. Nazem Kadri cut the lead in half with his first goal of the season, but Evan Bouchard found the back of the net less than two minutes later to restore the Oilers' momentum.

The second period featured one goal - forward A.J. Greer's first with the Flames. Vincent Desharnais and Evander Kane then scored in the final frame to seal the win for Edmonton.

The Oilers outshot the Flames 34-27 in the contest despite Calgary having six power plays. Edmonton managed to dictate the pace at even strength, owning 55.29% of shot attempts, 70% of scoring chances, and 71% of expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.

This year's Heritage Classic was the seventh edition of the event and first in Edmonton since the spectacle debuted in 2003. It was a sellout, with 55,411 fans in attendance.