McDavid has hat trick, Oilers hand Flames 12th opening-game loss in row

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid scored his 10th hat trick for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-2 win against the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and two assists, Leon Draisaitl had three assists, and Mike Smith made 45 saves for the Oilers, who defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a shootout in their opener on Wednesday.
"Calgary is a desperate team, they're going to play really hard, they threw a lot of pucks at the net, made us defend and made us compete hard," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "There were ebbs and flows in the game, we capitalized on a couple of power plays that pushed the game along, but they didn't quit. In the second period they were pushing pretty good, but I thought after Jesse's goal we kind of locked it down and didn't give them much after that."
Andrew Mangiapane and Elias Lindholm scored, and Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves in his 300th NHL start for the Flames, who lost their opener for the 12th consecutive season, an NHL record.
"I thought 5-on-5 we were pretty strong, we did a lot of things we wanted to do, especially in our own zone," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. "I thought a couple of penalties, a double minor and tripping penalty, they scored on both of those, and they were momentum shifts."
McDavid scored his second goal at 5:33 of the second period on a power play on a one-timer from the right face-off dot on a pass from Darnell Nurse to give Edmonton a 3-0 lead.
"It rolled a little bit, but it was a nice pass from [Nurse] and I tried to get good wood on it," McDavid said. "I've probably never scored a goal from there like that; a straight one-timer like that. I definitely worked at it [in the offseason], it was a nice pass from [Nurse] and I just tried to get it there."
Mangiapane cut it to 3-1 at 9:19, gathering a rebound on a shot from Dillon Dube in front and scoring on a backhand.
Lindholm scored on the power play at 5:03 of the third period to bring Calgary within 3-2, but Puljujarvi scored 26 seconds later, at 5:29, to extend Edmonton's lead to 4-2.
"I thought we were playing really good, then there is one that hits bodies and it goes in the net," Markstrom said. "When we make it 3-2, I thought we were taking over the game, and then right after, that's a tough one to let in, the 4-2 goal when I felt we were taking over the game, and it gave them a two-goal cushion again."

McDavid completed the hat trick at 18:23, scoring into an empty net for the 5-2 final with Markstrom pulled for an extra skater. McDavid has 26 goals in 31 games against Calgary.
"I thought tonight was a perfect example [of depth], the power play was stepping up, our third line was getting a goal, and I think the third period we just kind of rolled our lines over and over," Draisaitl said. "We kept it very simple, and when you have depth like that it gives you different options and it's hard to beat."
Derek Ryan gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 13:08 of the first period, knocking a rebound out of the air off a shot from Warren Foegele. Ryan, who signed a two-year contract July 28, played the past three seasons with the Flames.
McDavid scored on the power play at 17:29 to make it 2-0. He one-timed a shot after the puck bounced to him at the left face-off dot after a shot attempt from Puljujarvi was blocked.
"I thought we came out a little slow and they were scoring on their power play," Mangiapane said. "They obviously have a good power play. I think 5-on-5 it went pretty decent. We just have to come out a little better and maybe it's a little different tonight."
NOTES: McDavid (579 points) passed Doug Weight (577) for seventh place in Oilers history, and his 45th game-winning goal ties Ryan Smyth for fourth. … Draisaitl (311 assists) passed Kevin Lowe (309) for 10th place in Oilers history. … Calgary's opening game losing streak is the longest active in the four major sports, four ahead of the Indianapolis Colts, and is one opening loss away from the record shared by the Memphis Grizzlies (2001-2013) and the Cleveland Browns (2005-2017). Its last opening game win was Oct. 1, 2009, 5-3 against the Canucks. … Flames forward Blake Coleman sat out after being suspended one preseason game and one regular-season game for boarding Winnipeg Jets forward Jansen Harkins on Oct. 6.