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Flames. Oilers. The Battle Of Alberta.

A battle of Alberta with playoff implications in January. Pinch me.

By Jeff Chapman
B A T T L E O F A L B E R T A
B A T T L E O F A L B E R T A
Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports


Calgary

@
23-20-2, 48 points, 1.066 p/g Ranks 22-15-7, 51 points, 1.16 p/g
Pacific Division - 4th Pacific Division - 3rd
19th Points / Game 11th
t-15th Special Teams t-15th
23rd Shots on Goal 4th
16th Goals Against per Game 15th
8 PM MDT
TV - CBC
Radio - 630 CHED
Rogers Place

The opposing view

PROJECTED
FORWARDS

Patrick Maroon - Connor McDavid - Leon Draisaitl
Benoit Pouliot - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jordan Eberle
Milan Lucic - Drake Caggiula -  Anton Slepyshev
Jujhar Khaira - Mark Letestu - Zack Kassian

DEFENCE

Oscar Klefbom - Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera - Kris Russell
Brandon Davidson - Matthew Benning

GOAL

Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit


Draisaitl's OT Snipe Caps Three Point Night

Leon Draisaitl scored the game winner nearly two minutes into the overtime period.  The goal capped a three point night for Draisaitl and earned the Oilers two much needed points.  Two points help Edmonton keep afloat in the Pacific Division playoff race, and they couldn't have come at a better time for the Oilers.

Tonight, they face off against the Flames, who are nipping at Edmonton's heels.    It's the biggest Battle of Alberta in what seems like forever.  Can Edmonton inch closer to first place in the Pacific?

The Oilers are saying

Jordan Eberle is aware that he's not scoring very much.

Jordan Eberle made his way back into the top six after a short stint on the third line.  Eberle had two shots and a loud crossbar against the Devils, but his goal scoring woes continue.  Eberle is aware that his shooting percentage hovers around 13% (it's 13.5!).  Today, he sits at 7.4% on the season.  You've got to think it's going to come around sometime soon...

The opponents are saying

That's Flames goaltender Chad Johnson on the seeming rebirth of the Battle of Alberta.

Playing meaningful games against Calgary are important.  Playing meaningful games against Calgary in January (!) are even more fun.  Beating Calgary in Edmonton during in January would be a one-two punch after Calgary lost to New Jersey last night.  It would put Edmonton at 53 points in the Pacific Division and keep Calgary at 48.

That'd be nice.

Have some of this

  • Connor McDavid had two assists in Edmonton's 3-2 OT victory against the Devils on Thursday, giving him 36 assists on the season and 50 points in just 44 games.  I've used several superlatives to describe Connor McDavid's play, and none of them get old.
  • KHAIRA: Jujhar Khaira saw his first NHL action in Thursday's game against New Jersey. He played a little more than eight minutes and had two shots on goal.  I didn't notice him for good or for bad, and for the first game of the season on 4LW, this works for me.
  • Reid Wilkins reports that Adam Larsson wasn't on the ice this morning due to a shot block against the Devils.  Would lead me to believe Eric Gryba would be a replacement.
  • The Devils had just nineteen shots on Thursday night.  With his 21st victory on the season, Cam Talbot tied his career high.  He should the call tonight (21-12-6, .917 SV% / 2.49 GAA / 3 SO) Chad Johnson was in net for the Flames in their loss to the Devils last night, and I'd expect Brian Elliott (8-10-1, .889 SV% / 2.95 GAA) between the pipes for Calgary.
  • STANDINGS WATCH: Two big points for the Oilers in an OT victory against the Devils give them a little bit of room in the Pacific, but they can't take two steps back with a loss to Calgary tonight.  A regulation victory will keep Calgary a tantalizing five points away from the Oilers, and could vault them into second place depending on what Anaheim does against Arizona.
  • Iiro Pakarinen (knee), Tyler Pitlick (knee), and Darnell Nurse (lower body) will be out for the Oilers. The Flames are without forward Michael Ferland (lower body)
  • #GOILERS