Edmonton Oilers Overcome Mike Smith's Untimely Blunder, Take 3-1 Series Lead

The Battle of Alberta's reputation has not disappointed thus far with one exception; one of the teams involved does not look like itself. While the Edmonton Oilers are firing on all cylinders, their territorial nemesis appears broken at its core. The Calgary Flames' dominance during the regular season combined with the championship acumen of their roster---Blake Coleman, Milan Lucic, Trevor Lewis, Tyler Toffoli, & Darryl Sutter---made for a serious contender for the Stanley Cup. At least, so we thought.

However, to this point of the postseason the Flames look more like a dimly lit pilot flame. After struggling to put away the Dallas Stars in a tightly contested seven-game series, the Flames are visibly nowhere close to the Oilers through four games. And every uncertainty we had going in has proven certain, while seemingly every certainty has been anything but. The only predictable measure holding up so far has been Connor McDavid. But Mike Smith, the 40 year-old netminder, has been surprisingly solid for the Oilers. Well except for the 9 goal Game 1 and this game-tying goal in Game 4:


An injured Leon Draisaitl, who some believed wouldn't even dress in this series, has been extremely productive for Edmonton, totaling 13 points (2g-11a) in 4 games (is that good?). Evander Kane is another Oiler having an incredible showing so far. He has 5 goals & an assist in four games vs. Calgary, and he has 12 goals in the playoffs. No one has more than 15 playoff goals in the past 25 years. And some people believe 'one guy' is driving the bus in Edmonton. Interesting turn of events.


One player who was never suspected of falling short was Flames' G Jacob Markstrom. A candidate for the Vezina Trophy, Markstrom has crumbled under the bright lights of the Battle of Alberta & really left the Flames desperate. While the Flames haven't exactly played their best hockey, Markstrom simply has not done his job, which was especially evident in the opening seconds of Game 4:


After New York City's famous $1 Pizza joints folded up shop, Markstrom felt the need to offer Edmonton a free pizza for their troubles, I guess.

After roaring out to an early 3-0 lead, the Oilers allowed the Flames to creep back. And after receiving a gift in Mike Smith's blunder mentioned above, it seemed like the Flames were destined to even the series at two wins apiece & head back to Calgary tied. Instead, they head home with their backs to the wall. After a strong forechecking effort by the trio of Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, & Zach Hyman, Tyson Barrie's rebound found RNH's stick & he scored the go-ahead with three minutes to go. Kane would top it with an empty netter in the dying seconds.

Calgary heads home trailing their provincial foes three games to one and don't appear to have any answers for Edmonton's offensive weapons or Mike Smith. What's more, Calgary's best defensive defenseman, Chris Tanev, is injured & during last nights game was visibly laboring. Without him, they don't have a defenseman capable of breaking up opposing plays in their D-zone. Which has proven to be quite problematic. So Calgary's chances heading into Game 5 at the Scotiabank Sattledome are not great, but with their group it's impossible to count them out of any given game.