For the first two periods Saturday night, the Battle of Alberta was anything but. In the end, however, this was a battle to remember.
The Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 7-5, but only after nearly blowing a 6-1 lead in the third period.
VICTORY! #Oilers win #BattleOfAlberta 7-5! #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/22vQ6m9jkt
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 3, 2017
In a span of 7:16 the Flames scored four straight goals -- two by Sam Bennett, one each by Johnny Gaudreau and Michael Ferland-- to pull within 6-5 by the 12:20 mark of the third. A shaky, shell-shocked Laurent Brossoit and his Oilers teammates avoided a complete collapse, though, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was credited with a goal at 18:59 when his centering pass was knocked into the net by Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie.
The Oilers also beat the Flames, 3-0, on opening night in Edmonton and now have won six straight games against their rivals in the Battle of Alberta dating to Oct. 12, 2016.
Milan Lucic had a goal and two assists, and Jesse Puljujarvi scored twice -- and probably could have had two others -- to pace the Oilers. Eric Gryba picked up his first points of the season, assisting on a pair of goals.
Goal-starved all season, the Oilers scored 18 times in their last four games. They could have had even more Saturday if not for Calgary's goalies. Mike Smith, the starter, stopped two of three breakaways he faced in the second period, and David Rittich robbed Connor McDavid late in the third. In all, 14 Oilers recorded at least one point on Saturday as head coach Todd McLellan earned the 400th win of his NHL career..
Bennett, Gaudreau and Brodie all recorded two points apiece for the Flames.
The next edition of the Battle of Alberta takes place Jan. 25 in Edmonton.