After getting back in the win column with a decisive victory over the Predators, the Edmonton Oilers will make their way down the highway to face off against the Calgary Flames in the second Battle of Alberta of the season.
When the Oilers and Flames first me back in mid-October, it was one of the weirder games you’ll ever see. Our boys played reasonably well for a good chunk of the night, but things really fell apart in the end after a pair of goals were disallowed for goaltender interference. It was almost like those two goals were life and death for Edmonton, and when the calls didn’t go their way, there was no other option but to fold the hand and call it a day.
I’m not trying to make excuses about what happened — Gord knows the Oilers didn’t deserve to win when all was said and done, but I will suggest that having two goals come off the board took the wind out of their sails. There’s something about struggling to score and getting two called back that can put a team in the fetal position, and I believe that’s what happened here. Either way, a loss is a loss, and even though it doesn’t matter how we got there, falling to the Flames was a swift kick to the shins that made the early season losing streak feel even worse.
Tonight, the Oilers will look to replicate the McDavid-less success they had against the Predators on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena. The boys were by far the better team in that game from the moment the puck dropped until the final buzzer, which was the exact response we needed to see from them after getting blown out by the Blue Jackets. With goals from Zach Hyman, Viktor Arvidsson, and Corey Perry complimenting a warlord-like performance from Leon Draisaitl, there wasn’t much the Predators could do to stop them. It was about as good of a road game as you could have hoped.
The Oilers will need another dose of the same in Calgary if they plan on turning Thursday’s win into a streak. Whether it was Leon Draisaitl’s first line with Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson to the fourth line with Drake Caggiula, Noah Philp, and Corey Perry, Edmonton was getting productive minutes from throughout the lineup, and I suspect they’ll need a repeat performance at the Saddledome. The Flames have been fighting above their weight class all season relative to expectations, making them a dangerous out if you’re not ready to go.
Just when you think Calgary is starting to look like the team we all suspected they would be with the four-game losing streak to wrap up October, they go out and stun the New Jersey Devils with a 3-0 finish. The point here is that the Flames are playing better than a lot of people expected, and the Oilers would be best served to bring their A-game if they plan to avoid losing their first BOA season series since 2019-20.
Let’s see what the numbers say.
THE NUMBERS
OILERS | FLAMES | |
RECORD | 5-5-1 | 6-4-1 |
WIN/LOSS STREAK | W1 | W1 |
LAST 10 GAMES | 5-4-1 | 6-3-1 |
GOALS FOR | 27 | 33 |
GOALS AGAINST | 36 | 34 |
POWER PLAY% | 13.3 | 14.3 |
PENALTY KILL% | 62.5 | 73.0 |
AVG. SHOTS/FOR | 33.8 | 27.4 |
AVG. SHOTS/AGAINST | 26.2 | 31.7 |
TEAM SAVE% | .910 | .937 |
CORSI FOR% | 57.26 | 47.57 |
PDO | 0.971 | 1.023 |
TEAM SHOOTING% | 6.07 | 8.55 |
EXPECTED GOALS FOR% | 55.28 | 48.10 |
Numbers courtesy of Natural Stat Trick (Sv%, CF%, PDO, Shooting%, xGF% all at 5×5)
- Today’s meeting marks the 265th Battle of Alberta on the record and the second of three meetings this season. The Oilers dropped the first game in the series 4-1 back on October 13th and will be looking to turn it around down in Calgary for the only matchup at the Saddledome of the year.
- Including the 2022 playoff series, the Oilers have won their last six visits to the Saddledome and have outscored the Flames by a 22-13 margin over that run.
- Leon Draisaitl has 23 points (6G, 17A) in his last 13 games against the Flames, and his 46 career assists and 57 career points against Calgary are the most in his career against any team. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has five points (1G, 4A) in his last five games versus Calgary, with his 45 career points against the Flames being his most against any team.
- Zach Hyman picked up his first goal of the season on Thursday against Nashville, which could be bad news for Calgary since her has scored six goals over his last seven games against the Flames.
LINEUPS…
Oilers
Podkolzin – Draisaitl– Arvidsson
Skinner – Nugent-Hopkins – Hyman
Janmark – Henrique – Brown
Caggiula – Philp – Perry
Skinner – Nugent-Hopkins – Hyman
Janmark – Henrique – Brown
Caggiula – Philp – Perry
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Dermott
Kulak – Emberson
Nurse – Dermott
Kulak – Emberson
Skinner
The Oilers played very well on Thursday in Nashville, and it’s not surprising that the same lineup will be given the chance to do it again. According to Jack Michaels, the only change will be that Stuart Skinner gets the start against the Flames, lining up Calvin Pickard to handle tomorrow night’s matchup against the New Jersey Devils. If there are any changes between now and puck drop, I’ll jump in to update the combos.
Flames
Huberdeau – Sharangovich – Kuzmenko
Zary – Kadri – Pospisil
Coleman – Backlund – Coronato
Lomberg – Rooney – Mantha
Zary – Kadri – Pospisil
Coleman – Backlund – Coronato
Lomberg – Rooney – Mantha
Bahl – Andersson
Weegar – Miromanov
Barrie – Pachal
Weegar – Miromanov
Barrie – Pachal
Vladar
The Flames have had a wild season so far. As much as I expected — and bet on — them to be bad, they’ve had a strong start to the season, and I say that even with the four-game losing streak they just snapped on Friday against New Jersey. Looking at their stats page, I was surprised to see that Rasmus Andersson is leading the team in points (4G, 7A), which is good news for the Flames since many people think he could be traded soon and apparently at max value.
Getting back to the numbers, the Flames are getting contributions from throughout their lineup, meaning the Oilers need to be tight with their puck choices. I watched the Flames game on Friday night against New Jersey, and they thrived on turnovers, a detail the Oilers have struggled with at times. That said, the Oilers always look fine when they don’t try to overcomplicate their approach to offence. Simple plays, fellas.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…
It’s the one and only visit from the Oilers to the Saddledome this season and likely one of their final five visits to the Saddledome ever. Moreover, the Flames have a chance to clinch the Battle of Alberta season series (for the first time since 2019-20) with a win of any manner.Coming off his shutout on Friday, Dan Vladar starts again in net, backed up by Dustin Wolf. The projected extra skaters are Justin Kirkland, Jake Bean and Joel Hanley. Based on Saturday’s practice at Winsport, it appears that Anthony Mantha starts Sunday as he finished Friday’s game: in the top nine. That leaves Andrei Kuzmenko on the fourth line.The Flames played quite well against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The best compliment I can pay them is that they made New Jersey play a Flames style of game, which really did a lot to negate some of the Devils’ better offensive players. When the Flames skate and forecheck and maintain their shape, they can do a great job of making their opponents frustrated and contained. The more the other team is allowed to skate, the more difficult the outing will be for the Flames.Now, if only they can fix their power play…
TONIGHT…
Game Day Prediction: The Oilers bounce back nicely after falling in the first BOA, locking in a decisive 6-1 victory.
Obvious Game Day Prediction: The Oilers’ penalty kill will be a factor in the outcome. You tell me which side of the coin we get.
Not-So-Obvious Game Day Prediction: Vasily Podkolzin follows up his fight and assist from Thursday’s game against Nashville with his first goal of the season.
