The Edmonton Oilers are struggling through an early deficit, lifting goals and leveling the series at 1-1

CALGARY – The Edmonton Oilers would not be denied.

Not with another bad start. Not by a cascade of hard (stick) breaks or rejected goals.

In Game 2 of the Oilers’ second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against Calgary on Friday, Edmonton got the 5-3 victory needed to level the Battle of Alberta before switching to their home ice. And they did it by playing the way coach Jay Woodcroft has been preaching for weeks.

“We had some things that did not go our way today. But I think that speaks to our group’s resilience and determination. [that we came through]”said Woodcroft.” It’s something we’ve been working on for the last three months, the ability to hold on to it.

“I think if you went into our room, you would find a group of men who are absolutely sure of our message, absolutely sure of our game plan, absolutely sure of what it takes to win when it comes to the piece. And we have a belief in. We did not feel we played to that standard in match 1. We felt better tonight. “

Getting there was not easy for Edmonton.

The Oilers got off to a terrible start in Game 1, scoring three goals in just over six minutes en route to a 9-6 loss. Friday’s tilt started in an eerily similar way for the Oilers and was trailing 2-0 just 6:02 inside the first period. And then Edmonton were twice robbed of goals they felt were deserved.

At first, Zach Hyman thought he filled a 2-2 equalizer under Flames’ netback Jacob Markstrom before referee Chris Lee blew the game to death.

The call on the ice was no goal. Despite Hyman’s confidence – he even went to the bench for fist blows – the judges looked again and confirmed: no goal.

Following the fact from the NHL’s Situation Room, “the referee considered the game dead when he lost sight of the puck under Jacob Markstrom.”

The Oilers were still down 2-1. And a broken stick for Darnell Nurse on a subsequent Edmonton penalty kill helped Tyler Toffoli make it to the 3-1 Flames early in the second.

Edmonton kept coming. Right after that piece, Connor McDavid – who had a dominant night from start to finish – orchestrated a fantastic set-up for Leon Draisaitl to seemingly cut the Flames lead down to one. But Edmonton also saw the goal recalled this time after a successful challenge from Calgary for interference from the goalkeeper.

Undeterred, McDavid needed less than a minute away to dangle through Calgary’s defense and even score. 3-2 flames.

When Evan Bouchard had leveled the match to 3-3 with a powerplay goal late in the second, it felt like Edmonton were in full control.

“We got two goals pulled back and the rejections didn’t necessarily go our way,” Hyman said. “But we stuck to it and we fought. I think it’s a testament to our team. We’ve had a roller coaster season where our backs were against the wall and our ability to push back has been unparalleled. “

And the next time Hyman scored, it would count. Edmonton killed a penalty kick late in the third as Hyman turned on the lamp shorthanded in what would stand as the game-winning marker for Edmonton.

Draisaitl added an insurance account to secure the victory. He and McDavid came together for five points on the night, while Mike Smith returned from a terrible Game 1 performance with a 37-save display.

Now it’s a best-of-five series for the Oilers – and they have home ice advantages.

“I thought we deserved to win tonight’s match based on hard work alone,” Woodcroft said. “I thought we paid the price required to win a match in the second round. Our level of competition was excellent, our level of execution that came out of our own end was very good. We found a way to score. Some of the goals we gave up were a little bit victim to the circumstances [things like] broken sticks. In the end, I thought for a man that everyone was more competitive. “