Bring On The Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames have advanced to the second round of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. It took 63 shots (and overtime) to make it happen. Jake Oettinger kept the Dallas Stars within striking distance of Calgary, but the Jonny Gaudreau had Calgary’s 63rd shot. It beat Oettinger on the short side to give the Flames the 3-2 victory in overtime in a deciding game 7.

The Flames advance to the second round. They’ll meet the Oilers in the Battle of Alberta starting on Wednesday in Calgary.

Bring on the Calgary Flames.

The Flames had a successful regular season. They finished with 50 wins atop the Pacfic Division with 111 points, exactly seven more than the second-place Oilers.

All of that is spectacular. Both teams start the series at 0-0 on Wednesday night in Calgary.

This series has been 31 years in the making. The Oilers are fresh off winning just their second playoff series since 2006 when they took a 2-0 win over the LA Kings on Saturday night. The Flames needed overtime to dispatch Dallas, but you can bet that they’ll be ready when the puck drops for Game 1 on Wednesday night.

The atmosphere is going to be electric for the duration of this series. Every play, every moment will be under the hot lights. The winner will emerge to play for the Western Conference Championship, a thought unthinkable just four months ago. Now, the Oilers are just four wins away.

There are two days until the first game of the series, but the entire province of Alberta is already there. It’s been a long time coming for the Edmonton Oilers, and they’ll have a chance to become one of only four teams left in the playoffs should they advance.

Are you ready?

Bring on the Calgary Flames.