CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists for the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
Zach Hyman, Jeff Skinner and Mattias Janmark, with an empty-netter, scored for the Oilers (6-5-1), who have won four of their last five. Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped 29 shots in the win.
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Calgary Flames goalie Dan Vladar lets in a goal by the Edmonton Oilers during first-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Jeff Skinner, left, celebrates after his goal with teammate Zach Hyman, center, during first-period NHL hockey game action against the Calgary Flames in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Vasily Podkolzin, left, checks Calgary Flames' Matthew Coronato, right, during second-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman, left, scores against Calgary Flames goalie Dan Vladar (80) during third -period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl, right, celebrates after his goal with teammate Evan Bouchard (2) during first-period NHL hockey game action against the Calgary Flames in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Draisaitl lifted a backhand over Dan Vladar’s glove just 20 seconds after the opening faceoff. Skinner made it 2-0 for the visitors at 8:12 on a second effort.
Calgary's Anthony Mantha redirecting a Tyson Barrie shot past Skinner at 4:33 into the second period, and Yegor Sharangovich tied it at 2 for the Flames (6-5-1) 4:28 into the third with a shot through traffic.
Hyman scored on the second of three Edmonton power-play chances in the third period with a backhand over Vladar with 9:50 left in the game, and Janmark scored the empty-netter with a few ticks remaining.
Edmonton was without Connor McDavid, who is expected back in the Oilers’ lineup later this month.
Oilers: Edmonton’s power play that’s been slow this season produced the game-winner from Hyman.
Flames: The Flames couldn’t handle the Oilers’ speed and were down two goals early before generating any sustained offensive-zone pressure.
Calgary’s too-many-men penalty with 2:18 remaining hurt the Flames’ chances of sending the game to overtime.
Draisaitl has five goals and three assists in the last four road games and two goals and four assists in the two games since McDavid was injured. Draisaitl has averaged a point per game in 56 career games without McDavid since the latter was drafted first overall by Edmonton in 2015.
The Oilers host the Devils on Monday, and the Flames start a three-game road trip in Montreal on Tuesday.
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Calgary Flames goalie Dan Vladar lets in a goal by the Edmonton Oilers during first-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Jeff Skinner, left, celebrates after his goal with teammate Zach Hyman, center, during first-period NHL hockey game action against the Calgary Flames in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Vasily Podkolzin, left, checks Calgary Flames' Matthew Coronato, right, during second-period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman, left, scores against Calgary Flames goalie Dan Vladar (80) during third -period NHL hockey game action in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl, right, celebrates after his goal with teammate Evan Bouchard (2) during first-period NHL hockey game action against the Calgary Flames in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ticketed fans in Georgia and Notre Dame gear packed a plaza adjacent to the Superdome, enjoyed music under clear skies — and under the watch of snipers on rooftops — before filtering into the stadium for Thursday afternoon's College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl.
“It was a lot of fun. It felt safe, “said Shannon Horsey, a Georgia fan in her 40s who lives in Austin, Texas. ”Coming in they searched by bag thoroughly. So I felt like, OK, they're really paying attention."
She was in New Orleans with her husband, Joe, a 48-year-old Georgia graduate, and their teenage children, Jack and Zoe.
They extended their stay after the game, originally scheduled for Wednesday night, was postponed because of an attack in which a man drove a pickup truck into crowds in the French Quarter, killing 14 New Year’s revelers before police killed the attacker in a shootout. Dozens more were injured.
“We can see the presence up on the rooftop," Horsey said, pointing at a sniper above Champions Square. "So, I kind of felt like this is probably one of the safest places to be in the city.”
Joe Horsey found the pregame crowd larger than he expected but, also found the "energy lower than a normal football game.”
“You could sense the musicians trying to get people riled up. People are kind of going through the paces, a little bit in shock, but trying to make the best out of the day,” he said.
It also seemed to Horsey that opposing fans were being a little more polite to one another than at a typical game.
“SEC football can get nasty on game day and can get a little raucous," he said. "But there's a little different sense of civility and that there's bigger things than football.”
Flags were at half-staff outside nearby government buildings in memory of those killed in the attack, which has been labeled by authorities an act of terrorism.
The attack occurred on Bourbon Street, which runs through the heart of the French Quarter and is famously lined with bars, restaurants and clubs, near the corner of Canal Street, a main downtown artery.
The crime scene, which was gradually being cleared so it could be reopened to the public on Thursday afternoon, is about a mile’s walk from the Superdome.
Security was ramped up in and around the stadium.
Police blocked regular traffic from passing by the main Superdome entrance on Poydras Street, an eight-lane downtown artery.
A helicopter circled overhead.
Numerous security officers around the 70,000-seat stadium were handling dogs trained to sniff for explosive devices. They encircled cars entering the Superdome parking garage and in some cases sniffed bags and backpacks.
The game, originally scheduled for 7:45 p.m. CST on Wednesday, was pushed back to 3 p.m. Thursday, with the winner advancing to the Jan. 9 Orange Bowl against Fiesta Bowl winner Penn State. It was the first time the Sugar Bowl had been postponed in its 91-year history (although it had been relocated at the end of the 2005 season because of Hurricane Katrina).
Mark Oldani, a 58-year-old Nashville resident and 1988 graduate of Notre Dame, took a group photo for a gathering of Georgia fans in from of the Superdome.
The crowd was “friendly, nobody yelling back and forth at each other,” he said. “I think everybody's coming in hoping for a good game and wanting to make the most of a really difficult situation.”
Before the singing of the national anthem, a moment of silence, lasting close to half a minute, was held.
While many traveling fans extended their stay to attend the game, the postponement meant some would not be able to attend because of travel plans that were deemed too expensive or logistically difficult to change.
Numerous tickets were listed for resale online at prices of $30 or less, some as low as $23.
Postponing the game “was absolutely the right call,” said Lisa Borrelli, a 34-year-old Philadelphia resident who came to New Orleans with her fiancé, a 2011 Notre Dame graduate, but could not stay for the game.
She said they paid more than $250 per ticket and weren't sure if they'd bother listing them for resale because prices were so low.
“Of course we’re disappointed to miss it and to lose so much money on it, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter,” Borrelli said. “We’re fortunate enough that we’ll be fine.”
The Superdome also is scheduled to host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
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Street view of Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
A state trooper stands by New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon streets, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
FBI personnel arrive at the Caesars Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Cory Hunter flips a coin on Bourbon Street, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Law enforcement gather in front of the Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tourist walk past temporary barriers on Bourbon Street, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Local SWAT teams patrol outside the Caesars Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Fans pass through security check points as they enter the Superdome fan zone ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Fans pass through security check points as they enter the Caesars Superdome fan zone ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Fans pass through security check points as they enter the Superdome fan zone ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Security with bomb sniffing dogs check vehicles as they enter the Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Local SWAT teams patrol outside the Caesars Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
An aerial overall exterior general view of Caesars Superdome, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)
Security and bomb sniffing dogs check backpacks before entering the Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Security and bomb sniffing dogs check vehicles as they enter the Superdome parking garage ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Security with bomb sniffing dogs patrol the area around the Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Security and bomb sniffing dogs check vehicles as they enter the Superdome parking garage ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
