*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
Outdoor hockey is always a spectacle. Evander Kane had a goal and two assists, Zach Hyman had a two point game, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames with a 5-2 victory on Sunday night at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
The Oilers snapped a 4 game losing streak with the outdoor win, sitting at just 2-5-1 to begin the season. Hyman, Kane, and Leon Draisaitl all had multi point games, with Draisaitl having two assists and Hyman putting up a goal and an assist.
Kane said of snapping the losing streak that "I thought we got back to our foundation of how we like to play and how we need to play. I thought we skated really well. We were physical and if you look at the goals we scored, every single one of them was around their blue paint or creating havoc around their blue paint. That is a recipe for success for our group."
Brett Kulak started the scoring for the Oilers, giving them a 1-0 lead 4:19 into the game with his first goal of the season. Hyman then got an assist from Draisaitl on his 3rd goal of the season to double the lead to 2-0. Nazem Kadri got the Flames on the board with a power play goal before Evan Bouchard scored to make it 3-1 Oilers after one period.
AJ Greer scored the only goal of the second period, cutting the deficit to 3-2 for the Flames with a power play goal. Vincent Desharnais scored 6:16 into the 3rd period, with his first NHL goal giving the Oilers a 4-2 lead. With the net empty and less than a minute to play, Kane sealed the win with his second goal of the season.
Draisaitl said after the game that "Throughout the entire lineup, I thought we were really good; that is the way that we play. And with everything around, it makes it more special. This was a big game for either side, with the teams not off to a great start. It could be a little bit of a kick-starter. It is only one game, but it is definitely nice to do it in front of all these fans at home here and get the two points."
Getting the start for the Oilers was Stuart Skinner, with the Alberta native getting the win to improve to 1-2-1 on the season. Skinner stopped 24 of the 26 shots he saw from the Flames, posting a solid .923 save percentage.
Starting in net for the Flames opposite Skinner was Jacob Markstrom, who dropped to 1-5-1 through 7 starts. Markstrom turned aside 29 out of the 33 shots on goal the Oilers had, which was good for a .879 save percentage in the loss.
Flames captain Mikael Backlund said of the loss that "We sat back a little bit, gave them a little too much respect with the players they have, with Connor coming back and all that. But when we started playing the way we can at the end of the first period and the beginning of the second, I think we were a better team."
The Flames get back in action with a home game on Wednesday against the Dallas Stars, with Markstrom the likely starter. The Oilers also host the Stars with their next game, playing them on Thursday with Jack Campbell expected to start.
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