The Edmonton Oilers will be playing the Calgary Flames in the second round of the NHL Playoffs. After the Flames beat the Dallas Stars last night in overtime. Being from Edmonton myself I can tell you there isn’t a team that Edmonton Oilers fan dislike more the Calgary Flames. So there should be no lack of emotion in this series.
This series will start this Wednesday down in Calgary. This will give the Oilers 3 days off between games. Hopefully this will give the bumps and bruises. Most importantly Leon Draisaitl. He was clearly playing on some sort of leg issue. Even while injured he still played 22:38 on Saturday and looked good, so a healthier Draisaitl is only going to make this team better.
This Will Be A Close Series
The series between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames is going to be a hard fought battle. The two teams played a very even series. Through their 4 meetings each team won 2 games and the overall goal differential was 16-17 for the Flames.
Edmonton Oilers Vs
Opponent
GP
W
L
T
OL
PTS
PTS%
GF
GA
GF/G
GA/G
Calgary Flames
4
2
2
0
0
4
.500
16
17
4.00
4.25
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com Generated 5/16/2022.
First Game
2. 112. 5. 148. Final
The first game against these two teams went to the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers in this game lead from the start right through to the end of this game. A hat trick by Connor McDavid was the difference in this game.
The Flames were able to cut a 3-0 lead down to just a one goal lead, but the Edmonton Oilers were able to pull away and come away with the 2 points.
Second Game
Final. 3. 112. 5. 148
Another home game for the Edmonton Oilers against the Calgary Flames with similar results to the first one. The game itself was different though. After coming out to a 2-0 lead the Flames allowed the Oilers to score 3 in a row taking over the lead.
It was tied going into the 3rd period where Leon Draisaitl scored two goals in the third, claiming the victory for the Edmonton Oilers.
In this game the special teams played a large part having 3 of the 8 goals scored on the powerplay. This has always been an area of strength for the Oilers and it has carried into this playoffs as well.
Third Game
1. 148. 3. 112. Final
With the Calgary Flames having home ice advantage they are able to beat the Oilers in this game. The Flames played a solid 60 minutes whereas the Edmonton Oilers couldn’t get anything going in this game.
If the Edmonton Oilers look to beat the Flames they themselves will need to play a whole 60 minutes every game. This isn’t the rebuilding LA Kings, it is a conference winning team.
Fourth Game
5. 148. 9. 112. Final
Remember after the Edmonton Oilers lost game 4 to the King 4-0 and we all said that was a bad game played by the Oilers not a good game by the Kings. This game had a similar feel to that game.
The Edmonton Oilers could not get a stop in this game. Koskinen had a SV% of 0.583 and Smith had a 0.846 SV%. They didn’t even give the Oilers a chance to win this game. The offense was good by scoring 5 goals, but you will never win a game giving up 9 goals against.
Calgary Flames Vs Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mike Smith (41) and Calgary Flames left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) exchanges words. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /
The Edmonton Oilers Need To Win On The Road
Looking at the regular season stats previously noted, it appears the most important aspect of this series is home ice advantage. In the four games during the regular season the home team won every game.
This means if the Edmonton Oilers want to win this series they will need to overcome the past and win at least one game on the road. We know they can win on the road in the playoffs as they beat the Los Angeles Kings twice in LA of three games. For the Calgary Flames they only won 1 of the 3 games in Dallas in their first round series.
Edmonton Oilers Stars Will Need To Be The Best Players Again
In the first round the Edmonton Oilers stars had to play against the likes of Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault. These two players are in the top of the league when it comes to shut down centers. The Calgary Flames do not have anyone like that, so McDavid and Draisaitl will have a bit more space as there will not be a shutdown center shadowing them.
The Calgary Flames do have better defenseman than the Kings do though. So for the Oilers to have success they will need to have prolonged offensive zone time and wait for the Flames to breakdown. Having players like Hyman and Kane make offensive zone time easier to hold because they can win puck battles.
If the Edmonton Oilers win the puck possession battle I think they will win this series. It seems obvious, but the Flames are dangerous when they get the cycle going. If the Oilers have the puck whether it be in the offensive zone or neutral ice the Flames aren’t wearing down this team and getting chances.
A big question mark about this series is the health of Leon Draisaitl. If he is hurt bad enough to have a large effect on his game the Edmonton Oilers are in trouble. The Oilers one, two punch at center is what makes this team scary if that is gone the Oilers don’t stand much of a chance against the depth on Calgary.
My Prediction
This series is not an easy one to predict. These are both two excellent team that had to battle through a seven game series to get here. I think this series will be another long one for both these teams.
I am going to go with the Oilers in 6 though. I think the Flames will have trouble controlling Connor McDavid. The way the Oilers played in game 6 and 7 will carry over into this series and the Flames will not be able to handle it.
Next. 3 Things we Learned About the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1. dark
