RECAP: Oilers 4, Flames 3

EDMONTON, AB - The Oilers overcame a three-goal deficit in a pre-season Battle of Alberta on Monday night at Rogers Place, receiving multi-point nights from Jesse Puljujarvi, Connor McDavid, and Leon Draisaitl in a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Calgary Flames.
McDavid tied the game with a crashing effort into the Calgary crease at 8:44 of the third period that was challenged to no avail by the Flames bench, leading to Draisaitl's game-winner on the powerplay 55 seconds after the captain leveled the score.
Puljujarvi and Brendan Perlini continued their goalscoring sprees this preseason, notching their fourth and fifth respective goals in a second period that saw the Oilers outshoot the Flames 15-4 and respond well from a difficult final 10 minutes of the opening frame.

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FIRST BLOOD

The Oilers held a 9-2 shot advantage through the first 10 minutes of play before the Flames took control in the latter half of the opening period.
Matthew Tkachuk was the benefactor of a clearing attempt from Darnell Nurse that struck the skate of Elias Lindholm and fell right on his stick, showing patience in front of Koskinen and placing his shot into the top corner for a 1-0 Flames lead at 11:19 of the first period.
The turnovers were an issue in the opening 20 minutes, with the Oilers giving up nine in total.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Draisaitl delivered a terrific pass to Puljujarvi to pull the Oilers back within one goal with just under seven minutes to go in the second period, avoiding the outstretched paddle of Jacob Markstrom to put it on the tape for his Finnish teammate who buried his fourth goal of the preseason top shelf.
For the second-straight exhibition game, the prolific German was on the scoresheet with a great assist after notching the primary helper on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' game-winner against Winnipeg on Saturday.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Koskinen made a vital double save on Andrew Mangiapane on the four-minute mark, stamping out back-to-back smacks from the Flames forward in front when the visitors were amping up the pressure. The Oilers netminder, making his second-consecutive start, made 26 saves on 29 shots.

TURNING POINT

Leave it to the captain and the NHL's best powerplay last season to come through when it matters.
McDavid crashed the net 8:44 into the final frame and had Puljujarvi's ensuing shot strike his body and cross the goal line as he bowled over the Flames netminder. Calgary's challenge for goaltender interference failed, handing the Oilers powerplay a late go-ahead opportunity that was cashed in by Draisaitl with his trademark one-timer from the left circle. Nugent-Hopkins gathered the primary assist after he was found between the hash marks by the captain.

TOP PERFORMER

Puljujarvi continued his strong exhibition play with a goal and assist on Monday night, including the helper on McDavid's tying goal that originally went down as the Finn's second tally of the game before it was awarded later to his captain. Regardless, Puljujarvi is getting into the right spots this preseason.

PARTING WORDS

McDavid on a challenging opening period for the Oilers and responding in a big way in the final 40 minutes:
"I'd liked our game kind of the first half of the first period, and we kind of got away from our game," he said. "A couple of little plays at the blueline cost us. (Johnny) Gaudreau is always going to kind of hand around and get behind you d-men, so when there's a little turnover, he's really dangerous. He's a great player and made us pay on that one. Obviously, we need to be a bit better with the puck. It's something we always talk about, and as soon as we kind of got the puck in behind them, I thought our game got better."

McDavid on crashing the net on his game-tying goal and taking contact from the defenceman coming through:
"Obviously, they have the right to defend their net and defend me trying to get in there," he said. "But when the stick kind of comes into the feet there like (Brandon Tanev's) did, it's a dangerous play for me and the goalie. I don't want to go flying in (to the crease) there, the goalie doesn't want me flying in there, and the guy that's left safe is the defenceman that was sloppy with his stick.
"I would think you'd like to see that called a little bit more. It protects the guy driving the net, and obviously, we want to increase offence. The guy has to have the right to defend the net as well, but when the stick gets caught up in the feet and someone's flying into the net, you'd like to see that start getting called a little more."
McDavid on Duncan Keith's ability to make quick, subtle passes in the defensive zone:
"Yeah, he's such a veteran out there," he said. "I think he just understands the game so well, and whenever he gets the puck on his stick, it's so calming for everyone. I thought he made a great play on Jesse's goal there to make it 3-2. Nobody's going to notice it, but just to get the puck up quick and spring Leon to make a great play, it's just little stuff like that. It was his first (assist), and I'm excited to see his game continue to grow."
Keith on playing with McDavid and Draisaitl after playing against them as opposition:
"It's a lot more fun when they're on your side," he said. "It's impressive what those guys can do. I've played a while now and haven't seen a powerplay like that for sure. It's definitely a weapon of ours and it's good to have.

Keith on the feeling of suiting up for a different NHL team after 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks:
"Oh yeah, it was definitely a different feeling," he said. "But it was good, and I enjoyed it. It was obviously nice to get that win. It was a good game. I think I felt more comfortable as the game went on, and I think as a team we got it going. The powerplay was big tonight, for sure."
Keith on embracing a leadership role for young blueliners like Evan Bouchard:
"I love it, actually," he said. "It's interesting going through your career as a young guy, then kind of middle of the pack, and now as an older guy. It happens quick. You realize that as an older guy, I think it's part of your responsibility for sure... whatever I can do off the ice to help these guys feel comfortable. It's impressive, too. These guys are mature guys and really easy to get along with. They're making me feel comfortable here, too. It's been a nice relationship in that regard and it's just going to keep getting better."
Head Coach Dave Tippett on his team's comeback and evaluating off tonight's victory:
"I had a hunch we weren't going to be very good tonight," he said. "We had a really hard practice yesterday, so you could tell there were some heavy legs out there. I give them credit for hanging around. We got better as the game went on, which is good. We got a chance to see Duncan Keith for the first time, we're looking at some different things in our lineup, so it gives you the ability (to analyze) things I might try during the season. I had the ability to try some of those tonight. The only derogatory thing I could say about tonight is that we didn't take enough penalties, because I wanted to watch some penalty-killers. But that's not the worst thing in the world."