OILERS 3, FLAMES 1: Rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice and All-Star Jordan Eberle notched a goal and two assists as Edmonton halted Calgary's five-game winning streak but lost star Taylor Hall to injury.
On his first shift of the game, Hall lost his balance near the right-wing boards in his own zone. As he was falling, Hall absorbed a check from Calgary defenseman Cory Sarich and hit his head on the ice. Hall was helped to the locker room and did not return.
Devan Dubnyk made 18 saves for the Oilers, who improved to 2-1-0 on their four-game homestand with just their second win in seven contests at Rexall Place.
Edmonton took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period when Eberle made a backhand pass from the left faceoff circle to Nugent-Hopkins, who beat Leland Irving from the slot for his 17th goal. Nugent-Hopkins has scored in two straight contests following a six-game drought.
Eberle doubled the advantage just over five minutes later as he came off the left-wing boards and fired a shot past Irving from the faceoff circle for his team-leading 31st tally.
Defenseman Mark Giordano halved the deficit with 7:36 remaining in the second, ripping a one-timer from the left point that deflected off Edmonton blue-liner Ladislav Smid's stick and past Dubnyk.
Nugent-Hopkins restored the two-goal lead for the Oilers 9:25 into the third with his second of the night. Irving made the stop on Ryan Jones' shot from the left circle, but Nugent-Hopkins buried the rebound on the doorstep to cap his third multi-goal performance of the season.
Irving stopped 22 shots for the Flames, who had won four straight in Edmonton. Calgary remained one point behind idle Colorado for eighth place in the Western Conference.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Eberle also registered three points in a 6-1 win over the Flames on Feb. 21. ... Calgary has lost two consecutive meetings with Edmonton after winning nine straight in the all-time series. ... Giordano has three goals in his last six games. The blue-liner has notched at least one point in five of six contests. ... The Flames failed to earn at least one point for only the second time in 12 road games (6-2-4).
Calgary | Edmonton | |
Mark Giordano 1 | Points | Jordan Eberle 3 |
Mark Giordano 1 | Goals | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2 |
Mark Giordano 0 | Assists | Jordan Eberle 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Leland Irving .880 | Save Percentage | Devan Dubnyk .947 |
Leland Irving 22 | Saves | Devan Dubnyk 18 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Calgary | 19 | 1 | 0-1 | 6-6 | 18 | 27 |
Edmonton | 25 | 3 | 0-6 | 1-1 | 8 | 28 |