NHL Rink Wrap: Oilers rally to tie series with Flames

The New York Rangers do not have an answer for the Carolina Hurricanes’ defense, managing just one goal in the first two games of their Second round series. They were shutout on Friday night, 2-0, thanks to a 21-save effort from Antti Raanta and a shorthanded goal from Brendan Smith. The Rangers are clearly trying to play a more conservative style to improve their defensive play from the First Round, but they have completely taken away any threat of scoring. They have to find a middle ground if they are going to make this a series.

Mike Smith gave up two early goals again for the Edmonton Oilers, but he slammed the door shut the rest of the way to give his teammates an opportunity to rally for a 5-3 win to tie the Battle Of Alberta at one game apiece. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl also had big games for the Oilers, while Zach Hyman‘s breakaway goal late in the third period goes in the books as the game-winning goal for the Oilers as they erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to get the win.

He may not have had the most points in the game or scored the game-winning goal, but it is clear he was the best player on the ice and is the best player in this series. He helped swing this game in Edmonton’s favor in the second period when he put together a dominant stretch that included a goal to help bring the Oilers to within one, cutting Calgary’s lead from 3-1 to 3-2.

The goal was a thing of beauty.

Edmonton’s other offensive star had a huge game of his own. Draisaitl recorded a pair of assists and added a goal late in the third period to help put the game away. Draisaitl was a big X-factor coming into this series because he was not 100 percent had been a game-time decision before Game 7 in the First Round and before Game 1 in