Flames withstand onslaught of Oilers shots for split-squad win in Edmonton

Calgary Flames Walker Duehr (71) just misses his shot on Edmonton Oilers goalie Brett Brochu (50) during third period NHL preseason action in Edmonton on Sept. 23, 2024. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press)

Matt Coronato scored twice and Jonathan Huberdeau assisted on three goals as the Calgary Flames beat the host Edmonton Oilers 6-3 in one of two split-squad games between the provincial rivals on Monday night.

Yan Kuznetsov, Anthony Mantha, Rasmus Andersson and Justin Kirkland also scored for the Flames, who improved to 3-0 in exhibition action after also winning the game between the two teams in Calgary 6-1.

Zach Hyman, Noel Hoefenmayer and Connor McDavid replied for the Oilers, who dropped to 1-2 in pre-season proceedings.

The Oilers outshot the Flames 47-26 at Rogers Place.

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The Oilers came out flying, but it was Calgary that struck first seven minutes into the opening period as they were allowed to get a couple of shots on Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard before converting on their third crack on net, as Kuznetsov wired it home.

Edmonton had a chance to get the equalizer with three minutes remaining in the first period, but Devin Cooley made a huge stop on Oilers forward Corey Perry.

Calgary made it 2-0 with 1:38 left in the first on a two-on-one as Huberdeau dished it back to Mantha, who had a wide-open net to blast it into.

The Flames continued to stymie the home squad on the power play seven minutes into the second period as Andersson unleashed a bullet from the point that went off the post and in.

Just a minute later it was 4-0 for the Flames as Coronato took a drop pass and sent a wicked wrist shot past Pickard.

Brett Brochu took over in the Edmonton net midway through the second.

Calgary Flames Martin Pospisil (76) looks for the puck against Edmonton Oilers Raphael Lavoie (62) during first period NHL preseason action in Edmonton on Sept. 23, 2024. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press)Cooley continued his strong play with five minutes left in the middle period, making another huge save on Leon Draisaitl.

Edmonton finally got on the board with 2:43 remaining in the second period as McDavid made a nice feed to Hyman and he lifted it over Cooley.

The Oilers got another one back less than a minute into the third period as Hoefenmayer was credited with the goal after it caromed in off a Flames defender.

However, Calgary got that goal back just 32 seconds later as Sam Honzek dropped it back to Coronato and he blasted in his second of the contest.

The Flames restored their four-goal lead four minutes into the third as a huge rebound came out to Kirkland, who had an empty cage to rifle it into.

Edmonton’s power play finally got an opportunity and made the most of it with seven minutes to play as McDavid took it in himself and used a defender as a screen before sending a wrist shot past Cooley.

Edmonton Oilers' Viktor Arvidsson (33) swats at the puck in front of Calgary Flames' goalie Daniel Vladar (80) during NHL preseason hockey action in Calgary on Sept. 23, 2024.(Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

In Calgary, Flames win by five

Connor Zary scored twice and added an assist Monday night at Calgary's Soctiabank Saddledome to lead the host Flames to a 6-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the other part of the NHL pre-season doubleheader.

Yegor Sharangovich with a pair of goals, Nazem Kadri and Daniil Miromanov, also scored for Calgary.

Mike Hoffman scored for Edmonton.

Dan Vladar got the start for Calgary and stopped 18 of 19 shots before giving way to Waltteri Ignatjew for the third period.

The Oilers' Olivier Rodrigue stopped 20 of 25 shots in his 40 minutes of action before he was replaced by Nathaniel Day.

Zary, who turns 23 on Wednesday, is looking to build on a solid rookie season in which he scored 14 goals and had 34 points in 63 games. Zary finished eighth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, which goes to the NHL's best rookie.

Calgary's first-round pick in 2020, Zary has opened training camp playing left wing on a line with captain Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.

Backlund and Coleman have played together for years, but this is Zary's first look alongside the two veterans and the signs of chemistry were evident in the second period when the Flames scored four times to blow open a game that was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes.

Giving the home side the lead for good was Zary at 5:14 of the second period when he went to the net and deflected Backlund's shot past Rodrigue.

Edmonton Oilers' Jeff Skinner (53) steals the puck from Calgary Flames' Blake Coleman (20) during third period NHL preseason hockey action in Calgary, on Sept. 23, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)After Zary displayed a goal-scorer's hands firing a shot just inside the goalpost on a perfectly executed drag-and-shoot move on the power play at 9:12, his line went back to work.

At 14:20, Backlund set up Zary again on a cross-ice pass and while Rodrigue got across to make a terrific pad stop, Miromanov was right there to shovel in the rebound.

Calgary's final two goals came from Sharangovich, who led the club with 31 goals last season.

Playing on a line with Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko, Sharangovich one-timed a Kadri setup to wrap-up the second period scoring barrage.

He then added a short-handed goal 4:15 into the third.

All the scoring in the first period came 47 seconds apart.

Hoffman opened the scoring on a power play when he finished off a give-and-go with Ben Gleason by snapping a shot past Vladar at 7:55.

Calgary answered back when Kadri buried a lively MacKenzie Weegar rebound off the end boards before Rodrigue could slide across.

Non-friction section

• Edmonton had both McDavid and Draisaitl in their lineup, as well as their entire first power-play unit that has proven so deadly for the past three seasons.
• The 34-year-old Hoffman is in Edmonton's camp on a professional tryout. On Monday he played alongside Lane Pederson and Matt Savoie. Hoffman has logged 745 career NHL games with five teams after starting his career with the Ottawa Senators. He played last season in San Jose, where he scored 10 goals and had 23 points in 66 games.
• The Oilers had most of their veterans in action between the two split-squad games, other than Stuart Skinner, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak, Connor Brown, Mattias Janmark and Ty Emberson.