This series never wastes a second. This thriller had it’s highs and lows that went all the way into OT to be decided. In the end, the Calgary Flames had their season ended by a Connor McDavid overtime series clinching goal.
The Flames controlled the first period well enough to come out of it with a 1-0 lead. They put up five shots to the Oiler’s six but they got on the board early and were showing some confidence they’ve been lacking. The second period would be a tougher test for them but because of that great start, they avoided disaster.
Mikael Backlund added to the Flames’ lead 5:41 into the period. The excitement was quickly dampened when Darnell Nurse broke the shutout 2 minutes later. Jesse Puljujarvi swiftly tied things up with a goal of his own another 2 minutes later.
Now things are tied 2-2 halfway through the game. Not a place anyone wants to be in when they’re staring down the barrel of elimination. As we’re closing in on the final five minutes of the middle frame, the Oilers are awarded a power play which Zach Hyman converts on to get the Oilers’ their first lead of the game. That goal set off a wild sequence of events.
Hyman scores and just fifteen seconds later Johnny Gaudreau ties it once more. After the following faceoff, it takes Calle Jarnkrok sixteen seconds to get the Flames the lead once more. The Oilers only held their lead for 31 seconds of game time. Before the building can get too excited, Evan Bouchard ties things up at 16:08. It was 4:46 in real-time but just 1:11 on the game clock. This series knows how to make your head spin.
And after that exhilerating second period, you know what happened? Not shit. Just heart murmurs. The Flames put up just seven shots on net compared to the Oilers’ fourteen. No penalties, no goals- just twenty minutes of anxiety. So of course, we go to OT.
It took McJesus just five minutes to score that golden goal and as much as I love the Flames, you just have to love the guy’s emotion when he noticed he scored:
The Flames kicked ass this season and I’m sad to see them go. They didn’t have much bite in the rest of theseries compared to game one. Who knows where their future lies if Johnny Gadureau decided to leave in his free agency. As for the Oilers, I am happy for them. McDavid, Leon Draisaitl (who had 4 assists tonight), Darnell Nurse, and Jesse Puljujarvi have been battling for a change at a deep playoff run for ages now. Now they’re headed to the Western Conference Final. I’m excited to see who awaits them as we have to wait for the Blues and Avalanche to decide their series. I hope it ends up being the Avalanche, seeing McDavid versus MacKinnon will be electric.
I cannot wait to watch TNT soon too:
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