Evander Kane Scores Natural Hat-Trick in Game 3 Battle of Alberta

The Oilers were in the driver's seat for every second of the opening two periods. I thought Connor McDavid had peaked when he took over the LA Kings' series. Shameful & sacrilegious, I can't believe I was so naive. McDavid is insane & he is picking apart the Calgary Flames tonight; oh to be a fly on the wall for Darryl Sutter's post-game.

We should have known the Oilers would come out buzzing after their good luck charm saw them out the tunnel:

Despite the Oilers' dominant start, the opening frame belonged to Mike Smith & Jacob Markstrom. It would not take long for the Oilers to beat the Flames' goalie, though. Zach Hyman scored fifty-two seconds into the second period:

What a pickup he's turned out to be for Edmonton. Afterwards, another Ken Holland signing would steal the show. Evander Kane scored three in a row for the Natural Hat-trick. Leon Draisaitl assisted on all three, McDavid on two of them. Edmonton's offensive firepower is on full display tonight, here are Kane's three tallies:

Mike Smith's performance can't go undiscussed, too. He was lights out & his timely saves fueled the offensive outburst for the Oilers. The Flames didn't have the best game, but still generated chances, forcing Smith to rise to the occasion:

Mike Smith was so good tonight, that his good friend & former teammate decided to show a token of respect. Or something like that. This definitely won't be an area of controversy, and I'm sure our comments section won't be on fire or anything.

Anyway, the Oilers secure Game 3 & take momentum into Game 4 in Edmonton. The Flames will need to figure out a way to slow down the Oilers' attack or they're in trouble. It would also be helpful if Jacob Markstrom would make some timely stops. Even though each of the Oilers goals shown above were scored on odd-man rushes & not on the goalie, sometimes you just need your goalie to make the save. And Markstrom isn't getting it done right now.

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