Andrew Mangiapane scored twice in regulation, Sean Monahan netted the lone shootout goal, and goaltender David Rittich sparkled yet again in the tiebreaking showdown as the visiting Calgary Flames beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 Wednesday night.
Rittich not only made 31 saves through regulation and overtime, but he capped a perfect shootout with an old-school pokecheck. He has won all six games he's played this season that have gone to shootouts, surrendering only two goals against 21 shooters.
Monahan scored with a five-hole shot on Oilers goalie Mike Smith, who made 25 saves over the 65 minutes.
The Rogers Centre was buzzing in anticipation of the Battle of Alberta, but the home crowd was stunned 61 seconds after the drop of the puck. Calgary's Elias Lindholm opened the scoring by sending a sharp-angled shot that ricocheted into the net off the skate of Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson.
The anticipated fireworks followed with a pair of fights. Not long after he came within an inch of scoring, Monahan dropped the gloves with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for his first NHL fight. Then came the expected bout between Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk and Edmonton's Zack Kassian to settle the score from their last meeting.
After the intermission, the clubs stuck to playing the game, and they delivered an entertaining one. Kailer Yamamoto's rebound tally off a faceoff win tied the game 5:48 into the second period, but Mangiapane netted his first of the night -- and first goal in 12 games -- with 6:55 left in the frame.
However, Alex Chiasson again tied the game with a rebound power-play goal 96 seconds later. By assisting both of Edmonton's second-period goals, Leon Draisaitl extended his point-scoring streak to nine games, during which he has recorded five goals and 11 assists.
Mangiapane put Calgary ahead a third time when he showed great patience to score with 44.2 seconds remaining in the second period. However, Edmonton's Matt Benning, in his return after missing 20 games due to a concussion, scored off the rush with 8:11 remaining in regulation.
The Oilers also lost forward Joakim Nygard after he appeared to be hit in the hand by a shot at the end of the first period.
--Field Level Media
Calgary | Edmonton | |
Andrew Mangiapane 2 | Points | Leon Draisaitl 2 |
Andrew Mangiapane 2 | Goals | Matt Benning 1 |
Rasmus Andersson 1 | Assists | Leon Draisaitl 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Alex Chiasson 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
David Rittich .912 | Save Percentage | Mike Smith .893 |
David Rittich 31 | Saves | Mike Smith 25 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Calgary | 28 | 4 | 0-1 | 3-4 | 22 | 35 |
Edmonton | 34 | 3 | 1-4 | 1-1 | 16 | 31 |