Flames started out great, but the penalty parade sucked away their momentum and the game turned into a special teams battle after that.
Oilers certainly had some help from the officials tonight, but the Flames shot themselves in the foot in the 3rd period and blew the game because of dumb mistakes and bad D coverage. That's two games in a row now where they've been way too loosey goosey at times and have gotten away from their structure. Game 1 they got away with it because every shot ended up in the back of the Oilers' net. But unfortunately it caught up with them tonight and it cost them.
If Tanev is out long term, they'd better get their defensive game sorted out quickly, or this series will end up going the distance. They don't have an answer for McDavid, so they're gonna have to do their best to keep things 5 on 5 and just beat the snot out of the other 3 Oiler lines.
Oh Backlund, if only you had scored on that breakaway to make it 3-0. I feel like the Oilers would have folded up the tent if that had gone in. They had absolutely nothing going at the time.
|