Monahan scores shootout winner as Flames edge rival Oilers 4-3

EDMONTON — Sean Monahan scored the shootout winner as the Calgary Flames snapped a two-game skid with a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Andrew Mangiapane had a pair of goals and Elias Lindholm also scored for the Flames, who improved to 27-19-6.

Kailer Yamamoto, Alex Chiasson and Matt Benning scored in response for the Oilers (26-18-6) who had a two-game winning streak snapped.

There was a lot of intrigue going into the game as many wondered if altercations may occur in the wake of the last meeting between the two teams on Jan. 11 in Calgary where Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk delivered a pair of crushing hits on Zack Kassian, prompting the Oilers winger to jump Tkachuk, a move that earned Kassian a two-game suspension, which he returned from on Wednesday.

They didn’t disappoint, as Tkachuk and Kassian squared off for a brief fight during a face-off late in the first period.

The Flames scored just 61 seconds into the opening period with a bit of a gift goal as a sharp angle Lindholm shot hit defender Adam Larsson’s stick and deflected past Oilers goalie Mike Smith.

Less than a minute after Calgary goalie David Rittich made a point-blank save on Connor McDavid with five minutes to play in the first, a Flames shot trickled past Smith and sat on the goal-line before being cleared to safety with a millimeter to spare by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who then got into a rare fight with Calgary’s Sean Monahan on the next shift.

Edmonton tied the game six minutes into the second period as Yamamoto scored his fourth goal in his nine games up with the big club this season on a rebound.

Calgary regained the lead with seven minutes left in the middle frame as Mangiapane blasted a one-timer to the top right corner.

The Oilers evened things up again less than two minutes later when Chiasson scored on a rebound in tight on the power play.

Mangiapane scored his second of the game with 45 seconds left in the second, waiting out Smith before lifting in a backhand shot.

Edmonton made it 3-3 with eight minutes left in the third when defenceman Benning, who had missed the last 20 games with a head injury, made a great move to get past Noah Hanifin and beat Rittich for his first goal of the season, eventually sending the game to a thrilling overtime session where both goalies were forced to make five-alarm saves to send it to the shootout.

The Oilers are back in action on Friday when they welcome the St. Louis Blues to town, while the Flames are off until Saturday when they host Edmonton for a rematch.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2020.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press