Battle of Alberta Flares

Edmonton Oilers vs Calgary Flames 4-1 (0-1, 2-0, 2-0)

The Flames came into this game as aces of the Western Conference deck, in which Edmonton may be considered mere knaves. Be that as it may, the Oilers showed a remarkably honest effort - despite falling behind mid-way through the first period through Kubina's fine point-effort. The shots, hits and chances were close.

Edmonton kept grinding down their opponents, steadily increasing their time spent in Calgary's zone. A fine breakout pass allowed Penner to break into the zone, before dropping a pass to Gagner whose shot was initially saved, but Hemsky slotted home the rebound to level the score. From there on in, the Oilers flexed some hitherto unseen muscle against a very qualified opponent. A thrilling passing sequence led to a cross-crease pass to Hemsky's blade and the Czech expedited the puck behind Kipprusoff with confidence. The Flames kept taking the body, putting up good chances in the process, but were kept at bay by Edmonton's defense and a strong Khabibulin-effort.

The home fans kept their faith, however, and cheered their team on from the get go in the third period. Nonetheless, Edmonton were courteous fossors and consequently dug a sizeable grave for all the Flames to be buried in as they potted two goals within thirty seconds of each other a minute into the final frame. First O'Marra potted home a rebound, before Moss took a penalty right off the ensuing face off. Before his 3 goal night yesterday, Patrick O'Sullivan went 8 games without registering a point, but few recollected that as he scored his 4th in 2 games on that very power play.

Post game: "Our best game of the year" stated Oiler captain Ethan Moreau with a toothless grin in the post-game interviews. The Flames had equalled them in most facets of the game, but a combination of lethal finishing, smart defensive plays and solid work ethic saw the visitors rightfully claim 2 points.


Scoreboard
1st Period:
CGY - Kubina (M. Murray)

2nd Period:
EDM - Hemsky (Gagner, Penner)
EDM - Hemsky (O'Sullivan, Gagner) PP

3rd Period:
EDM - O'Marra (Moreau, Falardeau)
EDM - O'Sullivan (Hemsky, Gagner) PP



Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

Lines:

Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Cogliano - Laich - O'Sullivan
Moore - Krysanov - Brule
Moreau - Falardeau - O'Marra

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Yonkman

Khabibulin
(Hiller)