National Hockey League
Calgary 9, Edmonton 5
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 26, 2022
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Chris Lee
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Derek Nansen
Attendance: 19289

Johnny Gaudreau collected a career-best five assists and Matthew Tkachuk netted two goals and two assists to pace the host Calgary Flames to a 9-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund both scored twice, while Chris Tanev scored once in a three-point outing. Oliver Kylington and Dillon Dube added singles for the Pacific Division-leading Flames in the Battle of Alberta clash. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves.

For Edmonton, Leon Draisaitl posted his fifth career regular-season hat trick in a four-point game. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected one goal and three assists and Derick Brassard added a single.

Starting goalie Mikko Koskinen was pulled after surrendering five goals on 12 shots. Mike Smith stopped 22 shots en route to officially receiving the loss.

Both teams have been among the league's hottest clubs the last couple of months, reminiscent of their rivalry at its peak in the 1980s, and delivered a scoring barrage that harked back to those days too.

After Brassard opened the scoring 32 seconds into the clash, the Flames responded. Lindholm tied the game when he buried a breakaway chance at 5:28, and Tanev and Backlund scored 16 seconds apart to earn a 3-1 lead at 14:39 of the opening frame.

Draisaitl buried a breakaway opportunity in the final minute of the first period, then scored on the power play 44 seconds into the second period to tie the clash.

Kylington netted a tap-in tally set up by Gaudreau at 3:07 of the second period, but Nugent-Hopkins tied the game 45 seconds later with another man-advantage marker.

That's when the Flames pulled away. Tkachuk scored twice, both thanks to incredible passes from Gaudreau, to make it 6-4 at the 7:39 mark of the middle frame. After Draisaitl notched his 47th goal of the season just before the midway point, the Flames put down the hammer.

Seconds after a clutch Markstrom save on Evander Kane, Lindholm scored his 34th of the season at 2:55 of the third period. Backlund notched his second of the night just over three minutes later, and Dube rounded out the scoring at the 14:23 mark of the wild affair.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Edmonton   Calgary
Leon Draisaitl 4 Points Johnny Gaudreau 5
Leon Draisaitl 3 Goals Matthew Tkachuk 2
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 3 Assists Johnny Gaudreau 5
Leon Draisaitl 2 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Mike Smith .846 Save Percentage Jacob Markstrom .839
Mike Smith 22 Saves Jacob Markstrom 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Edmonton 31 5 3-5 4-4 12 31
Calgary 38 9 0-4 2-5 14 37
Upcoming Games
  • Calgary will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Flames have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • Edmonton will play their next game at home against Arizona. The Oilers have a W/L % of .622 after a win and .448 after a loss.