EDMONTON - Evander Kane had a goal and two assists as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the rival Calgary Flames 5-2 in the Heritage Classic outdoor game at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Sunday in a battle between two teams that have had less than stellar starts to their NHL seasons.
Brett Kulak, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard and Vincent Desharnais also scored for the Oilers (2-5-1) who snapped a four-game losing skid.
A.J. Greer and Nazem Kadri replied for the Flames (2-6-1), who have now lost five games in a row.
It was much warmer (3 Celsius at puck drop) than at the original Heritage Classic 20 years ago which reached -30 C with the wind chill in 2003, much to the relief of Edmonton fans.
Those same fans were also pleased when Edmonton started the scoring four minutes into the opening period as Flames' netminder Jacob Markstrom allowed a big rebound on an opportunity by Kane and defender Kulak was down deep to sweep in a backhand shot.
Edmonton made it 2-0 midway through the first period right after killing a two-man disadvantage as Leon Draisaitl came out of the box and waited for Hyman to catch up on a two-on-one before dishing it to him for his third goal of the season.