Oilers defeat Flames at Heritage Classic, end 4-game skid

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid returned from injury, and the Edmonton Oilers ended a four-game skid with a 5-2 win against the Calgary Flames in front of a sellout crowd of 55,411 at the 2023 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday.

McDavid, who had an assist, missed the previous two games because of an upper-body injury sustained against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 21. He had two shots on goal and was plus-2 in 23:26 of ice time.

“I’ve said this every day, our staff is so good here in Edmonton from the top down,” McDavid said. “It was comfortable at all points of the game.

“Obviously this was a big win for our group, we needed it. This was a big game for us if it was indoors or outdoors, so for us to get a win in front of all of our fans with the big spectacle, it made it even better.”

Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said McDavid looked like his old self.

“Anytime you see your captain, or the head of our snake, return to the lineup, that gives everybody a little bit of a lift,” Woodcroft said. “I thought he played his heart out tonight. It’s a different type of game, the ice isn’t normally what it is, but I thought he was dangerous every shift. He pushes teams back with his speed and I thought we had a lot of really good signs in his game.”

Evander Kane had a goal and two assists, Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist, and Leon Draisaitl had two assists for the Oilers (2-5-1), who were 0-3-1 during the skid. Stuart Skinner made 24 saves.

“Throughout the entire lineup, I thought we were really good; that is the way that we play,” Draisaitl said. “And with everything around, it makes it more special. This was a big game for either side, with the teams not off to a great start. It could be a little bit of a kick-starter. It is only one game, but it is definitely nice to do it in front of all these fans at home here and get the two points.

“To everyone who set this up, what a great job. It was a very successful night. These nights don’t happen every night. It was very special for all of us and for everyone to have family down to see it.”

Nazem Kadri and A.J. Greer scored, and MacKenzie Weegar had two assists for the Flames (2-6-1), who have lost five straight in regulation. Jacob Markstrom made 29 saves.

"We sat back a little bit, gave them a little too much respect with the players they have, with Connor coming back and all that,” Calgary captain Mikael Backlund said. “But when we started playing the way we can at the end of the first period and the beginning of the second, I think we were a better team."

Brett Kulak backhanded a feed from Kane to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 4:19 of the first period.

Hyman made it 2-0 at 9:38 on a 2-on-1 with Draisaitl, who came out of the box, collected the puck and threaded a feed past Weegar and on Hyman’s stick.

Kadri’s first goal of the season cut it to 2-1 during a 5-on-3 power play at 14:55, redirecting a point shot from Weegar past Skinner. But the Oilers took a 3-1 lead when Evan Bouchard scored on a slap shot from the point at 16:06.

“I think they kind of outplayed us in the first 10 minutes and scored a couple of goals there, and we were chasing,” Kadri said. “Especially when you’re playing against dangerous players, you have five-, 10-minute lapses and it’s a goal against.”

Greer cut it to 3-2 at 14:41 of the second period on a rebound of Weegar’s shot.

Vincent Desharnais, a 27-year-old defenseman, scored his first NHL goal in his 42nd game with a bouncing wrist shot at 6:16 of the third period to give Edmonton a 4-2 lead.

“I am very, very happy for Vinny,” Kane said. “Nobody realized it was his first goal. Hopefully we got the puck for him.”

Kane scored an empty-net goal with 47 seconds left for the 5-2 final. He had six shots on goal, six hits and was plus-3 in 20:32.

“I thought we got back to our foundation of how we like to play and how we need to play,” Kane said. “I thought we skated really well.

“We were physical and if you look at the goals we scored, every single one of them was around their blue paint or creating havoc around their blue paint. That is a recipe for success for our group.”

The Flames have been outscored 20-6 during their five-game losing streak.

“I thought we were waiting for something to happen instead of going after it and attacking the game, so we were sitting back,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “I thought one team was skating and one wasn't in the first period.

“I thought in the second and third period, we got better. We had a lot more zone time from that point. Once you get into the zone, you have to find a way to be a little bit more dynamic offensively in order to generate some 5-on-5 chances.”

NOTES: Edmonton played without forward Mattias Janmark (undisclosed). … Hyman, who was plus-4, is the sixth player to have at least two multipoint games outdoors (David Pastrnak, Henrik Zetterberg, Nathan MacKinnon, Sean Couturier and Tomas Tatar). … It was Draisaitl’s fifth multipoint game this season, which is tied for the NHL lead with Pastrnak (Boston Bruins), Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia Flyers) and Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks). … Markstrom had an assist on Greer’s goal.