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Battle of Alberta game day preview – Sam Bennett maybe…?

A special and personal game day preview as the Flames look to spill blood in Rexall Place one more time this season. Bennett is also a game-time decision.

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It's a special day in the city of Edmonton. No, it's not another draft day. Nor is it another former Oiler whose faded glory and need for money has them coming back to "run" the team. And finally no, it's not Rogers shill or Lays spokesperson Mark Messier becoming your 69th coach in the last five years.

Today is another Battle of Alberta that will pit a team who cannot seem to do anything right versus a team in the playoff bubble.

The air is sweet with hockey excitement every time this nearly eternal battle happens. The scent of failure is overwhelmed with the allure of upsets, goals, fights, and all those lovely facets of a game we hold dear to our hearts. We also have a potential chance of seeing young Sam Bennett make his Flames regular season debut. The excitement of this happening has coursed through the entire fan base. Pun intended: it’s further ignited the playoff aspirations of this club and fans.

Last season’s 8-1 thrashing was abundant with memories. Be it former Flames (and Oilers!) forward Curtis Glencross scoring a hat-trick, or Matt Stajan’s penalty shot goal and tribute to his deceased son. The game gave us something to look forward to next season. It gave us optimism that the rebuild would eventually yield more of this.

Previous Game's Recap | Stats Recap | NHL Boxscore

Oilers' previous game recap? This:

But seriously you can check out our pals at Copper and Blue.

Game time: 8:00 PM MT

Channel: CBC

All-time record: It’s 124-107-19-3 for the Flames, with a +19 goal differential. Oh, Oilers. EVEN WITH YOUR GREAT DYNASTY YOU ARE STILL NOTHING.

Common threads: Both teams exist in a province called Alberta, that is in western Canada. Both teams make decisions that often confuse their fans.

Approaching milestones: The Oilers drafting another player in the top-five. Fifth time in the past six years!

Scoreboard watching:

  • Vancouver kicks off HNIC rather early in Winnipeg at 1:00 PM MST. It’s a catch-22 but it’s probably for the best that the Canucks win. Former first-round pick Sven Baertschi is set to make his Canucks debut.
  • Detroit takes on Minnesota at 5:00 MST on City TV. Please for the love of all things, Detroit…do what is needed.
  • The fleeting seasons of Dallas and San Jose are meager threats to the Flames’ playoff hopes. Dallas takes on Nashville at 6:00 MST and San Jose takes on Arizona at 7:00 MST. Maybe keep an eye on Predators‘ forward Filip Forsberg as he is a strong contender for the Calder.
  • Finally the second late game: Colorado with former captain Jarome Iginla take on the Los Angeles Kings. Jarome, please score five goals or something. We all believe in you.

Current records and leaders

Calgary Flames Deadmonton Oilers
Record: 42-29-7: 91 points Record: 23-43-13: 59 points
Pacific Division: 3rd Pacific Division: 6th
Western Conference: 7th Western Conference: 13th
Goal Differential: +22 Goal Differential: -80
Time on ice
Defence: Mark Giordano (25:10 per game)
Forward: Sean Monahan (19:35 per game)
Defence: Justin Schlutz (22:36 per game)
Forward: The Nuge (20:38 per game)
Points
Goals: Sean Monahan (30)
Assists: Jiri Hudler (43)
Points: Jiri Hudler (72)
Goals: Ryan Nougat-Cumpkins (24)
Assists: Jordan Eberle (39)
Points: Jordan Eberle (62)
Shots
Shots on goal: Sean Monahan (183)
Shooting percentage: Jiri Hudler (19.5%)
Shots on goal: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (189)
Shooting percentage: Brandon Davidson (20.0%)
Faceoff Leaders
Sean Monahan (49.3%, 1759 taken) Boyd Gordon (55.9%, 1218 taken)
#GRITCHART
Penalty minutes: Brandon Bollig (88)
Hits: Lance Bouma (256)
Blocked shots: Kris Russell (274)
Penalty minutes: Matt Hendricks (76)
Hits: Matt Hendricks (209)
Blocked shots: Mark Fayne (125)
ES Corsi/Fenwick (minimum 1/2 team’s games played)
Corsi for%: Mark Giordano (49.75%, 61 GP)
Josh Jooris (47.48%, 56 GP)
Fenwick for%: Josh Jooris (49.66%, 56 GP)
Raphael Diaz (48.27%, 56 GP)
Corsi for%: Jordan Eberle (51.17%, 77 GP)
Taylor Hall (51.10%, 49 GP)
Fenwick for%: Justin Schlutz (50.38%, 77 GP)
Oscar Klefblom (50.07%, 56 GP)

Possible starting lineups

Calgary Flames
Left Wing Center Right Wing
Johnny Gaudreau Sean Monahan Papa Jiri Hudler
Lance Bouma Mikael Backlund David Jones
Mason Raymond Markus Granlund Joe Colborne
Brandon Bollig Matt Stajan Drew Shore
Left Defence Right Defence
Kris Russell Dennis Wideman
TJ Brodie Deryk Engelland
David Schlemko Corey Potter
Goalies
KARRI RAMBO
Jonas Hiller

Edmonton Oilers
Left Wing Center Right Wing
Benoit Pouliot Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Jordan Eberle
Teddy Purcell Derek Roy Nail Yakupov
LOL TAYLOR HALL Anton Lander Andrew Miller
Luke Gazdic Rob “The” Klinkhammer Matt Fraser
Left Defence Right Defence
Oscar Klefblom Justin Schultz
Martin Marincin Nikita Nikitin
Brandon Davidson Keith Aulie
Goalies
The Professor Ben Scrivens
Tyler “Hot Cross” Bunz

by Mike Pfeil