Smith stays undefeated, Oilers defeat Flames

CALGARY-- Mike Smith remained undefeated this season, making 20 saves for the Edmonton Oilers in a 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.

Jesse Puljujarvi and Gaetan Haas scored for Edmonton (11-8-0), which has won eight of 10 and four straight on the road.
"Trending in the right direction," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "Our team, we're starting to, you jell, there's certain things you want your team to do in certain situations and we're starting to acknowledge those things a lot more, playing kind of the right way at the right times in games."
Rasmus Andersson scored, and David Rittich made 23 saves for Calgary (8-8-1), which has lost three of four.
"We've got more to give, for sure," Flames coach Geoff Ward said. "It was a step in the right direction but we can still be better."
It was Edmonton's first regulation win against Calgary when both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl fail to score a point, according to Sportsnet. The only previous win in that circumstance was 2-1 in a shootout on Jan. 14, 2017.
"Everybody on this team wants to help those guys," Haas said. "We're just happy if we can do it. It's always great if we can make some goals and let them a little bit free for a night."

Puljujarvi scored on a setup by Tyson Barrie to put Edmonton up 1-0 at 5:41 of the first period. The forward has five goals in his past seven games after not scoring in his first 11.
"He's a good player," Tippett said. "We saw that early. He wasn't getting rewarded but he's a threat out there. He gets himself into scoring position and they start going in for him, and he is a real good player and he's a dangerous player, but he's a successful dangerous player when they go in for him."
The goal came before Calgary's first shot on Smith. Edmonton leads the NHL with 25 first-period goals; Calgary has given up the first goal in 11 of 17 games.
"I don't think the guys are getting down by getting scored on first," Ward said. "It was a tight hockey game. We had some chances to tie the hockey game, for sure, and we didn't. The chances were there."

Haas scored his first goal in his fourth game of the season to put Edmonton up 2-0 at 17:55 of the second period. Andersson scored 45 seconds later after a Johnny Gaudreau pass to make it 2-1.
"Somehow we still have to find a way to score the first goal and play with the lead and take it from there," Andersson said. "I mean, we're chasing the game, and they go 2-0 and then it's 2-1 and then we're chasing in the entire third period. You're not going to win a whole lot of games when you're chasing from behind the whole time."
Smith made five saves in the third period, including one on Matthew Tkachuk in close with 1:21 remaining and Rittich on the bench for an extra attacker.
The goalie is 4-0-0 in five starts for the Oilers since his season debut Feb. 8. He was pulled against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday in his only start without a decision.
"He had the one tough night, but other than that, he's been really solid, solid again tonight too," Tippett said. "We're a team that we need both guys and up and going, and now with 'Smitty' back it looks like he's playing real well, and [Mikko Koskinen] will get back in there and he'll play real well, and I think they'll be a real good asset for our team."
The teams finish a back-to-back home-and-home at Edmonton on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN, NHL.TV).
NOTES: Flames forward Sam Bennett was benched and did not play the third period. Ward said "we'll keep that internal." Bennett, who played 6:30, had requested a trade through his agent and was a healthy scratch Feb. 4. ... Barrie is tied for second among NHL defensemen with 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 19 games. He, Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Jeff Petry (Montreal Canadiens) are five points behind Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks). ... Flames center Sean Monahan, who is on a 12-game goal drought, did not play because of a lower-body injury. He is day to day.