This season’s first complete game without superstar Connor McDavid turned out to be a big success. Now, the Edmonton Oilers are looking to repeat their strong performance when they face the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
The Oilers had a rocky start to the season, but they bounced back with a convincing 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday, bringing their record to three wins in their last four games.
Winning so decisively without McDavid, who is expected to be out for two to three weeks due to an ankle injury, gives the team a boost of confidence.
“We don’t want to play without Connor, but everyone was just a bit better,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said after practice on Saturday. “Also, we were able to finish on our opportunities, which is something we haven’t been able to do earlier.”
The Oilers had high hopes after reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season, but they started this new campaign with three losses in a row, including a 4-1 defeat against the Flames on October 13. They only managed to win two of their first seven games.
The win over the Predators has given the Oilers a sense that they are back on track.
“We’re pretty confident. We’re not just a one-man team,” Edmonton forward Zach Hyman stated. “We have a lot of pieces that can step up. It’s great to get that win, and before that, we were confident as a group.
“Every team goes through injuries. It’s unfortunate that we have the best player in the world not playing. It doesn’t help, but it gives others chances to step up and improve. That’s a good thing for this team. … Hopefully, when he comes back, we’re a better team.”
The Flames are coming off a strong 3-0 win at home against the New Jersey Devils on Friday, which ended a four-game losing streak.
“We deserved to win; I thought our effort was much better all around,” said Calgary forward Blake Coleman, who scored twice against New Jersey. “I thought we played tight defense, didn’t give up much, and when we did, Vladdy (goaltender Dan Vladar) was fantastic.
That’s how we need to play; we know that, and we realize we strayed from it for a few games. It’s tough hockey, but when we’re on, that’s how we look.”
Vladar, who made 22 saves for the shutout, is expected to be in goal against the Oilers, breaking the Flames’ usual rotation.
“It’s a huge win for us after a couple of losses in a row. I want to point that out,” Vladar said. “Of course, this is a nice day for me… but the most important thing is getting two points.”
The Flames returned home after a rough road trip where they lost two games by a total score of 10-1, with the second loss happening during Calgary captain Mikael Backlund’s 1,000th career game. Backlund was celebrated before the game against the Devils.
“Mikael’s an emotional guy, so I think it means more to him than people realize, just because of who he is,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “We didn’t play well in our last game in Utah, but I felt like we got a little closer to how our team needs to play to succeed, and it was even better to see it on a special night for Mikael.”
