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Road teams prevail in both split-squad games between Oilers and Flames: Recap, Highlights, and Reaction
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Photo credit: © Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Sep 21, 2025, 23:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 21, 2025, 23:08 EDT
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The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames split the split-squad games.
In Edmonton, the Flames won 3-2 in overtime, while the Oilers won 3-0 in Calgary. Let’s go through the home game first.
The Oilers opened the scoring in Edmonton. Darnell Nurse’s shot from the half-boards found a hole through the Flames’ netminder to put the Oilers up 1-0 about four minutes into the second period. Picking up the assist was Matvei Petrov.
The Flames scored back-to-back goals in four minutes. First, it was Morgan Frost just over seven minutes into the second period, as his shot from the faceoff dot beat Matt Tomkins. With nine minutes left in the second, Joel Farabee deflected a back-door pass past Tomkins.
Thankfully, the Oilers found the game-tying goal with 79 seconds left in the second period. Petrov’s great period continued, as he attempted to centre a pass, with the puck bouncing off the Flames’ defender to make it 2-2.
In overtime, Frost’s shot from the faceoff dot once again beat Tomkins for the victory. Simply put, there were too many Oilers down low that led to this goal.

Takeaways…

Matthew Savoie had a solid game, as he showed off his speed, even if he didn’t get on the scoreboard. His linemates were Trent Frederic and Vasily Podkolzin, and they played alright.
James Hamblin was buzzing, finishing with two shots and nearly getting a shot off on a breakaway. The Oilers’ best player in this game was Matvei Petrov, who picked up an assist and a goal.
Mattias Janmark had a pretty bad turnover in front of the net in the third period, but it was waived off due to goaltender interference. Other than that, he had a quiet game. Like in the NextGen games, Vilijami Marjala was noticeable, finishing with an assist and two penalty minutes.
On defence, Darnell Nurse had a good game, scoring a goal and generating quite a few offensive opportunities. Midway through the third period, he made a nice defensive play, which otherwise would’ve been a tap-in. Overall, the left-shot defenceman finished with five shots and five blocks, the former being tied for the game high.
Also taking five shots in this game was his defence partner, Jake Walman. The two are projected to be defence partners through the season, and they looked solid out there, despite Walman being on his off-hand.

What happened in Calgary

Just over two-and-a-half minutes into the first period, Kasperi Kapanen got the Oilers on the board, as he received a pass from Ike Howard when entering the zone for a breakaway. The initial shot was saved, but he was able to tap it in to open the scoring.
Connor Clattenburg had two good NextGen games, and he was on the board once again as he picked off a pass in the slot, just over eight minutes into the final period. Clattenburg had no problem firing it back to give the Oilers an insurance goal.
Midway through the third, the Oilers added another goal as Riley Stillman’s shot from the point beat the Flames’ netminder. Picking up the assists were Noah Philp and Beau Akey.

Takeaways…

As you can imagine, Connor Clattenburg was all around the ice. He played a little under 10 minutes, but scored a goal, fought a player, had two hits, blocked two shots, and started a scrum in the final minute of the game. If he hits his potential, he’ll be a good bottom-six forward.
Noah Philp had a strong game, picking up an assist on the Oilers’ final goal. He went 7/13 in faceoffs and blocked two shots. Philp’s competition for the fourth-line right-shot centre is Curtis Lazar, who went 11/19 in faceoffs.
This was the best Ike Howard has looked in an Oilers uniform. He was okay during the two NextGen games, but picked up an assist and did well carrying the puck into the zone on Sunday. That assist came on Kasperi Kapanen’s game-opening goal, and the Finn was flying.
Sticking with Finns, Atro Leppänen may be a dude. After leading the SM-Liiga in points as a defenceman, the left-shot defenceman moved to North America and could play for the Oilers at some point next season. That’s a whole lot of left-handed defencemen and not a whole lot of spots available.
Quinn Hutson can really shoot the puck, finishing with a team-high four shots in the game. Like Leppänen, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him play with the Oilers at some point this season.
Samuel Jonsson and Nathaniel Day split goaltending duties, with Day being credited with the shutout. Jonsson faced all 12 shots he faced, while Day saved all eight shots he faced. It was good to see Jonsson bounce back after a rough start in the NextGen game.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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