McDavid scores only goal, Oilers end Flames winning streak at five

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid scored the only goal, and Mikko Koskinen made 24 saves for the Edmonton Oilers in a 1-0 win against the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Sunday.

The Oilers (16-12-2) have won three games in a row and six of seven. They are 7-2-1 under coach Ken Hitchcock and have won five straight at home.
"First of all, Calgary is a really good team. The tempo they play at, it puts a lot of pressure on you," Hitchcock said. "I just thought we did a really good job in the first and third period. We got away with a little bit in the second, we got caught on the stretch game. I like how we stayed with it when we got an early lead, we didn't try to flex out. We got quality chances in the first period from playing the right way."
WATCH: [All Flames vs. Oilers highlights]
David Rittich made 29 saves for the Flames (19-10-2), who lost for the first time in six games. Calgary is 9-2-1 in its past 12 games.
"It's always the worse kind of loss, a 1-0 game," Rittich said. "We didn't play our game. We just need to be better than that. We made a mistake on that goal, going two guys on one. [McDavid] was there alone. We had a talk about it, and next time we will be better."
McDavid scored at 12:18 of the first period off a cross-ice pass from Alex Chiasson to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead.
"I thought we did a good job," said McDavid, who also scored the game-winning goal in a 7-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild on Friday. "We kept our emotions in check, played a hard game, and didn't cross the line ever, and I thought it was good."
Edmonton outshot Calgary 16-10 in the first period.
Rittich kept the Flames within a goal early in the second by making the save against Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a breakaway 42 seconds into the period.
"I thought we played well in the second and stayed out of the box, and then in the third, we took three [penalties] and taxed some guys," Calgary coach Bill Peters said. "It's hard to mount a push when you are on the kill."

The Oilers were 0-for-5 on the power play. The Flames went 0-for-2.
Calgary thought it tied the game 1-1 at 12:18 of the second when Alan Quine's shot from the point went in through traffic, but Hitchcock challenged for goalie interference, and the goal was overturned after video review showed Flames forward Anthony Peluso impaired Koskinen's ability to defend the net.
"It's disappointing, but it is one of those calls that could go either way," Calgary forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "Our argument might be that he couldn't really go anywhere because the defenseman was right there, but we understand how that rule works a little bit. It could go either way. I thought we reacted fine for the rest of the game, but chances were hard to come by tonight."
The Flames had four shots in the third period. The Oilers had seven, and their best chance came when McDavid hit the crossbar on the power play with 4:01 remaining.
"It's a one-goal league, it always has been, and you have to find a way to win these tight games," McDavid said. "We've been doing a good job to find a way to end up on the right side of the score."

They said it

"I'm not happy with the result, but I am happy with our weekend. We gave up two goals [Saturday] night (a 5-2 win against Nashville Predators) and one tonight, so there was some positives. It just looked like we were running on fumes a little bit tonight." -- Flames coach Bill Peters
"I though this was a playoff game played by both teams. I thought it was a really sound, well-played hockey game. We still had scoring chances, and they had scoring chances, especially in the second period. But overall, it was a playoff game. Every puck-battle mattered, every loose puck there was a battle for the race. That's what playoff hockey is about." -- Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock

Need to know

Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau had a seven-game point streak end (four goals, nine assists). … Calgary forward Elias Lindholm's six-game point streak, which included five straight with two points, came to an end (five goals, six assists). … The Flames played without defenseman Mark Giordano, who was serving the second of a two-game suspension for kneeing Wild forward Mikko Koivu in a 2-0 win Thursday. … McDavid has four game-winning goals this season. … Koskinen is 9-3-1, including 6-0-0 at Rogers Place. … The Oilers have eight shutouts in 236 regular-season games against the Flames. Edmonton's previous shutout against Calgary was a 3-0 win Oct. 4, 2017.

What's next

Flames: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET; SN, NBCSP, NHL.TV)
Oilers: At the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, SNW, NHL.TV)