Draisaitl scores 400th NHL goal for Oilers in shootout loss to Flames

EDMONTON -- Leon Draisaitl scored his 400th NHL goal for the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Wednesday in the season opener for each team.

Draisaitl scored on the power play at 8:32 of the second period, receiving a backhand, cross-crease pass from David Tomasek to score at the right post to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead. The forward became the 111th player in NHL history and 11th active to score at least 400.

Blake Coleman, Connor Zary and Matvei Gridin scored for the Flames. Dustin Wolf made 32 saves.

“I like the way we stuck with it. We found ourselves behind the 8-ball early, but I thought we got better as the night went on,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “There was really no quit and we started to play the right way in the second period, we started to establish our forecheck a little bit more than we did in the first period, and it allowed us to play a bit quicker than we did earlier in the game.”

Nazem Kadri scored in the eighth round of the shootout to cap the comeback for the Flames. Morgan Frost also scored for the Flames, and Draisaitl had the Edmonton goal in the tiebreaker.

“I don’t know why we have to make it so dramatic, but on the road it’s never easy to be a visiting team during a home opener,” Kadri said. “We came out flying, were able to sustain the pressure and kind of build our game from there. So, it’s a character win.

“We’ve got to build on it, I think that’s important.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and two assists, and Connor McDavid had two assists for the Oilers. Stuart Skinner made 19 saves.

Gridin started the Calgary comeback at 12:40 of the second period when his centering pass on the rush ricocheted off of Oilers forward Noah Philp’s skate and past Skinner to make it 3-1.

The 19-year-old forward, selected by the Flames at No. 28 in the 2024 NHL Draft, was making his NHL debut.

“I tried to pass it backdoor to Matty (Coronato), it went off some guy’s skate and in the back of the net. So, I’ll take it,” Gridin said. “It’s unreal. I know a couple years ago, I played on PS (PlayStation), and now I’m in there. So, it feels nice. A great opponent, the other team. You never forget your first game and your first goal.”

Zary closed the gap to 3-2 at 14:47 on the power play, batting in a puck past Skinner’s blocker. The goal was upheld after video review for high-sticking.

Blake Coleman tied it 3-3 just 40 seconds into the third period. Zary dumped the puck in on net from center ice. Skinner stopped the puck but a miscommunication with defenseman Evan Bouchard led to Coleman poking the puck through the five-hole.

“It was one bad decision, and it makes you look really bad and that’s kind of how it goes,” Skinner said. “Their first goal was pretty fluky, and I think their second one was pretty borderline. Honestly, I felt good about my game and I will say that how we played defensively tonight was superb.

“It was a great battle. ‘Wolfie’ made some spectacular saves. It is really fun to watch. I thought he played a great game. I thought I was able to battle and make some good stops too. I thought that was one of the better shootouts I have had. I feel like I have gotten better in that aspect. That’s the Battle of Alberta. Going to the shootout and eight or nine shooters. It’s a fun game.”

Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton ahead 1-0 on the power play at 9:53 of the first period. McDavid sent the puck up to Draisaitl at the side of the net, who put a cross-crease pass on the stick of Nugent-Hopkins for the put-away through Wolf’s legs.

Andrew Mangiapane made it 2-0 at 16:11 in his Oilers debut, taking a cross-ice pass from McDavid and picking the top corner with a wrist shot, far side from the left dot. The forward signed with Edmonton as a free agent on July 1.

Draisaitl’s goal then made it 3-0, with Tomasek getting his first NHL point.

“We just kind of got sloppy with it and turned the puck over too much, which started to give them life,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “They capitalized on one and then the power play and then they started to get the momentum there. But it started with 10 minutes of being sloppy and just turning the puck over.”

NOTES: The Oilers signed forward Jack Roslovic to a one-year, $1.5 million contract on Wednesday. The 28-year-old had 39 points (22 goals, 17 assists) in 81 games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season and four points (one goal, three assists) in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games. … Mangiapane played his first seven NHL seasons with the Flames before being traded to the Washington Capitals before last season. He faced the Flames twice with Washington but did not score. … Gridin became the fourth teenager in Flames history to score in his NHL debut, joining Zayne Parekh (April 17, 2025), Jarome Iginla (Oct. 5, 1996) and Brian Glynn (Oct. 8, 1987). … McDavid recorded his 198th multi-assist game to tie Al MacInnis for 23rd place on the NHL’s all-time list.