EDMONTON — Connor McDavid scored three goals as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Saturday night for their second straight win to start the season.
Jesse Juljujarvi had a goal and two assists for Edmonton (2-0-0). Derek Ryan also scored while Leon Draisaitl had three assists and goalie Mike Smith stopped 45 shots.
Andrew Mangiapane and Elias Lindholm scored for Calgary (0-1-0) which has lost a record 12 consecutive season-opening games.
The Oilers opened the scoring with seven minutes to play in the opening period as Warren Foegele spun a shot on Flames starter Jacob Markstrom. Ryan was there to convert the rebound.
Edmonton made it 2-0 on the power play with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first. Puljujarvi’s shot went off a Calgary stick right to McDavid, who registered his first goal of the season.
McDavid scored another power-play goal five-and-a-half minutes into the second, firing a one-timer from near the right face-off dot.
Calgary scored its first midway through the second. Mangiapane was able to track down his own rebound in tight and score on a backhand shot.
The Flames made it 3-2 five minutes into the third with another man advantage. Matthew Tkachuk made a nice pass from behind the net that allowed Lindholm to score.
However, Edmonton regained its two-goal edge 26 seconds later. Cody Ceci sent Puljujarvi in alone and he made no mistake putting his second of the season past Markstrom.
McDavid recorded his 11 career hat trick into an empty net.
On Monday, Calgary hosts the Anaheim Ducks, who’ll head to Edmonton to face the Oilers on Tuesday.
Notes: The Flames were without forward Blake Coleman who was serving a suspension for boarding Winnipeg Jets forward Jansen Harkins on Oct. 6? Calgary dressed 11 forwards and seven defencemen? Forward Zack Kassian returned for the Oilers after hitting his head on the ice during a fight in a game against Vancouver on Oct. 7? The last time the Flames won a season-opener was in 2009 when Miikka Kiprusoff was in net. The previous NHL record for season-opening losses was seven. By comparison, the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Browns have had the longest streaks of the sort of the four major North American leagues, with 13-consecutive season-opening losses apiece.
