EDMONTON — Connor McDavid had a hat trick as the Oilers defeated the rival Calgary Flames 3-0 on Wednesday in Edmonton's home opener.
Cam Talbot made 26 saves for the shutout in net for the Oilers (1-0-0).
Mike Smith made 42 saves in his debut for the Flames (0-1-0) are now 0-7-1 in their last eight season openers.
McDavid opened scoring 11 minutes into the first as Leon Draisaitl fed him so he could beat a helpless Smith in the Flames' net.
Talbot had to be sharp on several occasions to keep the second period scoreless, although Edmonton led 29-21 on the shot clock after 40 minutes.
Edmonton went up 2-0 eight minutes into the third period as McDavid turned on the jets to blow past a pair of Calgary defenders and beat Smith up high on a breakaway. It was his third breakway of the game and 150th career point.
McDavid put his third goal of the game into an empty net as Draisaitl set him up again after a crushing hit by Milan Lucic pried the puck loose.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, with the Flames at home to Winnipeg and the Oilers in Vancouver.
Notes: It was the Oilers 38th season opener in team history, and the 29th time they have opened at home, going 17-8-3 coming into the game… Edmonton won all four games against Calgary last year. The two teams will face off five times this season… Recently-signed forward Jaromir Jagr did not make the trip with the Flames… During the pre-game opening ceremonies, the Oilers played tribute to police officer Const. Mike Chernyk who was struck by a car and stabbed in Edmonton on Saturday, yet the joined the team on ice for the anthem.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
