Flames keep firing under Sutter, beat Oilers for 3rd straight win

The Calgary Flames won a third straight game under new head coach Darryl Sutter with a 4-3 victory Monday over the visiting Edmonton Oilers.

Elias Lindholm, Dillon Dube and Andrew Mangiapane each had a goal and an assist and Noah Hanifin also scored for Calgary (14-12-3).

Mikael Backlund had a pair of assists and Jacob Markstrom stopped 28-of-31 shots for the win. Sutter replaced Geoff Ward, who was fired March 4.

Leon Draisaitl, Josh Archibald and defenceman Adam Larsson scored for Edmonton (18-13-0), which played its third game in four days.

Mike Smith had 23 saves in the loss.

The Flames are at home against the Oilers again Wednesday. Edmonton leads the season’s Battle of Alberta 3-2 with five games remaining between the two clubs.

The Oilers hold down third spot in the all-Canadian North Division. The Flames were two points back of the fourth-place Montreal Canadiens.

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The Flames and Oilers traded goals in a 67-second span early in the third, but the Flames led 4-3.

Edmonton pulled Smith for an extra attacker, but couldn’t produce the equalizer.

Hanifin restored Calgary’s lead firing Mangiapane’s drop pass by Smith stick-side at 6:32 of the third period.

Draisaitl drew the visitors even at 5:25. The German roofed Connor McDavid’s drop pass under the crossbar.

A five-goal second period followed a scoreless first Monday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Archibald tipped Devin Shore’s pass from the boards upstairs on Markstrom at 17:07. Mangiapane gave the hosts a 3-1 lead at 13:45 on a goaltending gaffe.

Smith left his net to play the puck behind the goal-line, but turned it over to Milan Lucic.

Mangiapane whipped the puck by Smith’s right arm as Edmonton’s goalie slid back into his net too late to cut off the angle.

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Larsson halved a two-goal deficit at 9:49 banking his own rebound off Markstrom’s pad and into the net.

Lindholm scored off the rush at 8:57 when he rifled an Oliver Kylington feed by Smith.

Dube produced the first goal of the game at 5:25. Lindholm knocked the puck away from McDavid in the neutral zone and fed Dube to beat Smith between the pads.

Kylington left the game in the first period after taking a Jujhar Khaira elbow to the head. Khaira and Flames forward Brett Ritchie fought a few shifts later.

Khaira needed help to the bench and down the tunnel and did not return to the game. Kylington was back on Calgary’s bench before the end of the period.

Notes: The Flames improved to 12-0-0 this season when leading after two periods . . . Draisaitl extended his point streak to seven games (seven goals, five assists) and McDavid to six (three goals, 10 assists).

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