Oilers burned by Flames

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

Despite having an impressive 42-19-4 record the Flames were not on top of the Northwest Division, but remained a point behind powerhouses Vancouver, though Calgary had a comfortable 11 point gap to their Alberta rivals. The Oilers, who were brimming with confidence, made no changes to the lineup that decimated the Wild two nights ago.

With both teams held up in their ramparts at the start, the game started somewhat tentatively. Ethan Moreau was able to breach the fortification, however, and scored a fine goal from in close to open the fight. Checking liner Garth Murray equalled Moreau's goal eight minutes later, taking the puck well from a Nagy pass and squeezed the shot by Khabibulin. Jarome Iginla then quickly added to his strong season totals by netting a power play goal with a slap shot from the top of the circle.

Neither team had the offensive prowess to circumvent each other's defenses during the final two periods. The shots were too often taken from low percentage angles, more hopeful than realistically dangerous releases. Calgary's penalty kill limited the Oilers passing lanes in marvellous fashion, overcoming eight full minor penalties. The impatient home fans were clearly distraught with the lack of conversion on the man advantage. Nonetheless, it was the kind of game one comes to expect between these teams - close, intense and not necessarily the most entertaining hockey, though it is always entertaining as such.


Scoreboard
1st Period:
EDM - Moreau (Falardeau, O'Marra)
CGY - G. Murray (Nagy, Moss)
CGY - Iginla (Langkow, Bourque) PP

2nd Period:
-
3rd Period:
-


Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

Lines:
Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Tangradi - Laich - Brule
Axelsson - Cogliano - Moore
Moreau - Falardeau - O'Marra

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Petry

Khabibulin
(Hiller)