May 23, 2022 by Eric Friesen

The Edmonton Oilers hosted the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Sunday, the first playoff Battle of Alberta in Oil Country since April 14, 1991.

That game ended on a sour note for Oilers fans, with Theoren Fleury sliding across the ice at Northlands Coliseum after scoring the overtime winner for the Flames. Just over 31 years later, the Oilers bested their provincial rivals in the first-ever playoff game between the clubs at Rogers Place.

Evander Kane, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for 10 points, all in the second period, to power the Oilers to a 4-1 win and 2-1 series lead. The Oilers’ new top line of McDavid, Draisaitl and Kane have become a dominant trio with 23 points combined through the first three games of this series.

Even more impressively, McDavid, Draisaitl and Kane became the first trio to put up 55 points through the first 10 games of the playoffs since the Oilers in 1988.

Hats off for Kane

If you blinked, you might think they were showing Kane’s first goal on replay. Kane scored three times off the rush in a span of six minutes, giving him the seventh-fastest playoff hat trick in NHL history.

It was his first career NHL playoff natural hat trick and second career NHL playoff hat trick. The 30-year-old also joined Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri as the only players in franchise history with multiple hat tricks in a playoff year.

Since joining the Oilers in January, Kane has 32 goals and 52 points in 52 combined regular season and playoff games. Kane has proven to be a perfect fit with this group, and he’s enjoying the most successful run of his 13-year NHL career in Edmonton.

“I think I’ve always had a good relationship with whatever crowd I’ve been a part of when I played there,” Kane told Leah Hextall of ESPN on Sunday. “But there’s something special about the city of Edmonton, and the fans in this building. And we try to feed off that energy as a group. And I think we did that tonight.”

Related: Evander Kane emerges as a game-breaker for Oilers

Kane leads the NHL in playoff goals with 10, and became the fastest Oilers’ player to score 10 goals in a playoff year since Jari Kurri tallied 11 goals in the first nine games of the 1985 playoffs. He also joined Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Kurri as the only players in franchise history with multiple hat tricks in a playoff year.

Draisaitl sets NHL record on one leg

Despite playing through a reported high ankle sprain and an illness, Draisaitl has been incredible so far against the Flames. Draisaitl has now registered a point on each of the Oilers last five team goals, going back to his insurance marker on a breakaway in the third period of Game 2.

The 26-year-old leads the series in points with 10 and extended his assist streak to six games (tied with McDavid for the longest in the 2022 playoffs) on Sunday. Draisaitl also set the NHL record for most assists in a playoff period with four and matched the NHL record for most points in a playoff period with four, too.

Reuniting “The Dynamic Duo” has worked wonders for the Oilers in the 2022 playoffs. While they weren’t regular linemates this season, Head Coach Jay Woodcroft always has the option to put two former MVPs and scoring champions on the same unit.

Playing Draisaitl on McDavid’s wing, has also taken some of the pressure off his shoulders (or ankle) while he attempts to recover from his injury on fly. Now, if Draisaitl can start to unleash his one-timer for a couple power-play goals, the Oilers’ chances of advancing to their first conference final since 2006 will be vastly improved.

McDavid is magical again

On a night when he was the third star of the game, McDavid was still the best player on the ice. McDavid looked dangerous every time he touched the puck, and set up all three of Kane’s goals thanks to his otherworldly speed, vision, hands and passing skills.

On the second goal, McDavid made a slick move to create an odd-man rush that was eerily similar to one he made against the Flames at Rogers Place on February 21, 2021. On both goals, McDavid made a play between his feet in the neutral zone to get past Noah Hanifin and generate a goal for his team.

McDavid leads the league in playoff points with 23, the most points by an Oilers’ player in a playoff year since Joe Murphy had 24 in 1992. His 17 playoff assists are also more than every other player in the league has in points, expect for his teammate Draisaitl.

Additionally, McDavid became the first player in NHL history to record nine multi-point games within the first 10 games of a playoff year. If McDavid records two or more points in Games 4 and 5, he would equal Gretzky’s NHL for most consecutive multi-point playoffs games with eight.