1. Alta-tude

There’s nothing quite like an emotional victory to get the group feeling good again.

And now, a chance for another – against an age-old rival – as the Oilers pay their lone regular-season visit of the season to the Scotiabank Saddledome. GET TICKETS

Calgary is feeling good again, a mood buoyed by a solid performance two nights ago in that 3-0 win over New Jersey that put an end to a four-game slide.

To a man, the group agreed that effort was more indicative of how they want to play, as well as a building block for a busy stretch that sees the Flames play six games in five different cities over the next 10 days.

This evening’s opponent is a familiar one, and one against whom Calgary has enjoyed success against already this season.

A 4-1 win over the Oilers three weeks ago has – so far – proven to be one of the standout efforts of the season, one which Rasmus Andersson says his team can look to for inspiration.

“A lot,” he said when asked if his group can take anything away from the Oct. 13 tilt. “Confident that we beat them last time, and we played a really good game in Edmonton, back-to-back. We can take a lot of that game, I thought we played a pretty good game that game.

“They’re going to be a hungry team coming in here, we’ve got to be ready from the start.”

Head coach Ryan Huska has said on several occasions this season that his group’s focus has to be on self, on playing the right way to find success.

Nonetheless, he sees his club’s provincial rival as another test, even though Edmonton captain Connor McDavid is not expected to play after suffering an injury earlier this week.

“We see them a lot,” Huska said Saturday. “Whether or not 97 plays, they have a lot of offensive players, the forwards are really the strength of their team. So if we want to let them have room and space, similar to if we would have done that with New Jersey, then you’re asking for problems.

“So it’s a really big focus of ours, and I shouldn’t say it’s just against New Jersey or Edmonton, that’s the way we have to play against everybody if we’re going to be successful, so I just want to see the same commitment to that style of hockey from the guys.”

Then there’s the rivalry. Provincial bragging rights on the line.

The Flames drew the first salvo, and they’d love nothing more than to hold the upper hand in the season set with another win tonight.

Defenceman Tyson Barrie has a unique perspective, having spent time now on both sides of the Alberta rivalry.

“Anytime you have success against a team, it gives you a little bit of confidence,” he said. “I think they’re probably playing a little bit different than they were a couple weeks ago, but it’s a familiar rivalry, it’s something we take a lot of pride in.

“The Battle of Alberta, I’ve been on both sides of it, so I know it’s a fun game to play in, and we’re excited for it.”

Barrie’s got a unique perspective too, perhaps, on what to expect from the opposition.

“I’ve got a couple of their tricks,” he said with a smile. “Obviously they’re a great team, a lot of good players, even if you know what’s coming, it’s hard to stop.

“We’ll be ready for ‘em.”

2. Know Your Enemy

The story in Edmonton this week has been the absence of Connor McDavid, who was injured early in Tuesday’s loss at Columbus and is expected to be sidelined for the next couple of weeks.

But the captain’s absence did not faze the Oilers in their most recent outing, a 5-1 win at Nashville on Halloween night.

Leon Draisaitl led the charge offensively with three points Thursday, helping Edmonton improve to 5-5-1 on the season.

“You’re never going to just take care of Connor leaving,” Draisaitl told NHL.com after the win in Nashville. “You know? There’s always going to be some pieces missing. He’s the best player in the world, so we’re certainly going to miss him, but it also creates a lot of opportunities, a lot of looks for other players. I thought tonight everyone did a great job of accepting that and sticking together and playing collectively as a group.”

Tonight’s contest is the first in a back-to-back for Edmonton; they’ll host the New Jersey Devils Monday. But the Oilers won’t leave Canada for the next three weeks.

Over that span, they’ll visit every Canadian NHL team except the Winnipeg Jets, though after tonight, four of their next five contests are on home ice.

2024-25 Stats

3. Fast Facts

2024-25 Season Series

Tonight’s contest marks the second Battle of Alberta in the three-game season series, and the only one scheduled for Scotiabank Saddledome ice.

The Flames rode the strength of three third-period goals in the series opener in Edmonton Oct. 13, with Anthony Mantha’s rebound effort serving as the decider in a 4-1 Calgary win.

Rasmus Andersson, Justin Kirkland and Connor Zary also tallied for the Flames, while Jeff Skinner counted the lone Edmonton marker in the first period.

Dan Vladar turned aside 25 of 26 shots to earn the victory in goal.

After this evening’s game, the two sides won’t meet again until March 29, 2025 at Rogers Place.

Did You Know?

Vladar joined some rare Flames company in Friday’s win over the Devils, becoming just the fourth Flames keeper ever to earn an assist and a shutout in the same game.

Pat Riggin did it first in an 11-0 whitewash of the Colorado Rockies April 1, 1982, while Rick Tabaracci earned the second such instance April 12, 1996 in a 6-0 Calgary win at San Jose.

Prior to Vladar’s work Friday night, the most recent Flames netminder to accrue an assist and a shutout in the same game was Miikka Kiprusoff, who did so December 17, 2005 in a 3-0 Calgary victory over the Boston Bruins.

4. Lineup Notes

The Flames skated Saturday at WinSport with a similar look to how Friday’s win ended.

Lines and pairings were as follows:

Forwards:
Connor Zary – Nazem Kadri – Martin Pospisil

Blake Coleman – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato

Jonathan Huberdeau – Yegor Sharangovich – Anthony Mantha

Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Rooney – Andrei Kuzmenko

Justin Kirkland

Defence:
Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson

MacKenzie Weegar – Daniil Miromanov

Tyson Barrie – Brayden Pachal

Jake Bean – Joel Hanley

Goaltenders:
Dan Vladar

Dustin Wolf

5. Players To Watch

Flames – Blake Coleman

Coleman is coming off his first multi-goal effort of the season Friday against New Jersey, and what a clutch performance it was!

His first marker, a tip-in with just over five minutes left in regulation time, broke a scoreless tie and stood up as the game-winner. He added an empty-netter from his own zone to seal the deal two minutes later.

The unit of Coleman, Mikael Backlund and Matt Coronato finished +2 on the night.

Clutch, by the way, is a familiar term to Coleman: seven of his 30 goals last season were game-winners.

Oilers – Leon Draisaitl

Draisaitl scored twice, added an assist and led all Edmonton forwards with 19:20 of ice-time in Thursday’s 5-1 win at Nashville, helping the Oilers cause in a big way in their first full game without the services of Connor McDavid.

The German forward has four goals and six points from his last three games – all away contests – and is up to 13 points on the young season, as he continues his bid for a sixth straight full-length season of 100 points or more.

Seven of Draisaitl’s eight tallies this season have come at even-strength.