McDavid's hat trick leads Oilers past Flames
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Cam Talbot led the NHL in saves last season. Connor McDavid led the NHL with 100 points.
Both picked up exactly where they left off. McDavid scored three times, and Talbot made 26 saves to record the shutout, as the Edmonton Oilers won their Rogers Place opener 3-0 over the rival Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.
McDavid brought the capacity crowd to its feet at 11:01 of the first period after the Oilers' top line held the puck in the Flames' zone for almost a minute. Leon Draisaitl's pass deflected right to McDavid, who fired a shot into the open side of the net.
The Oilers launched 16 shots at Flames goalie Mike Smith in the first period, but the Smith kept his team from getting buried early. Smith, who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in the offseason, extended his pad to stuff a breakaway chance from McDavid less than a minute into the game. He also got down low to deny an excellent chance from Mark Letestu.
Smith had his mask knocked off his face by a slapshot from Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom in the second period. Smith would go on to face a total of 44 shots on the night, and gave Flames fans a glimmer of hope that the inconsistent goaltending that led to their first-round playoff demise last season has been addressed.
But, at 8:07 of the third, McDavid blew past Flames defensemen Travis Hamonic and T.J. Brodie, cut toward the net and threw the puck up over Smith's shoulder.
The Flames, who played an ultra-conservative 1-2-2 game, couldn't get their legs for a late-game push, as they fired only five shots at Talbot in the third period, and none would have been considered a premium scoring chance.
McDavid scored an empty-netter with 59 seconds left to trigger an avalanche of hats from the crowd.
NOTES: This marks the second straight season the Flames have opened the season at Rogers Place; last season, Edmonton won the curtain-raiser by a 7-4 count. ... The Flames last beat the Oilers on April 2, 2016. ... RW Jaromir Jagr, the NHL's No. 2 all-time scorer with 1,914 career points, was in Calgary on Wednesday, as he was introduced as the newest member of the Flames. The 45-year-old just signed a one-year deal and was not available for the opener. ... The Oilers scratched RW Iiro Pakarinen and D Yohann Auvitu. ... The Flames scratched C Curtis Lazar, C Freddie Hamilton and D Brett Kulak.