FIRST PERIOD
EDMONTON
Matt Tomkins’ first-ever save for the Oilers saw the 31-year-old netminder make a strong left-pad save to turn aside winger Joel Farabee on a breakaway in the first minute of the contest after defenceman Kevin Bahl made a strong half-ice pass from deep in the Calgary zone.
The Edmonton-born netminder signed a two-year contract with the Oilers this offseason to serve as the club’s third option between the pipes behind another local product in Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, and is projected to serve as the starter in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors after spending the last two years in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization.
Tomkins had a 12-10-5 record with a 2.55 GAA and .907 SV% in 26 AHL starts for the Syracuse Crunch the previous year and most recently played six games in the NHL for the Lightning during the 2023-24 campaign (3-2-1, 3.33 GAA, .892 SV%).
Another recent arrival in forward David Tomasek – for the first time in his career in North America – showed some of his professional quality as the points leader in the SHL last season with Färjestad BK on a line with two veterans in Mattias Janmark and Seth Griffith, side-stepping a Calgary defender with speed and ripping a hard shot on goal in the first few minutes of play in the opening frame.
Young forward Matt Savoie, another local product from St. Albert, certainly looks a step ahead from where he was during last year’s pre-season thanks to four games of NHL experience and a year spent seasoning in the AHL with Bakersfield. The 21-year-old was alongside Vasily Podkolzin and Trent Frederic, two physical veterans who helped open up space for him to use his hands and speed to make a few scoring plays, including a look on Edmonton’s first power play when Frederic was tripped up in front of the Calgary crease by Jan Kuznetsov.
Neither the Oilers nor the Flames were able to break through on their only power plays of the opening 20 minutes, while Edmonton looked the more dangerous side with a 9-3 advantage in shots.