Preview: Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers 1/14/17 (46/82)

You know you want to scream it from the top of a mountain: THE FLAMES AND OILERS ARE PLAYING A GAME THAT ACTUALLY MEANS SOMETHING....FOR REAL...SERIOUSLY!

Calgary and Edmonton will tangle tonight for the third time this season and for the first time since the season opening back to back that Edmonton swept. The Battle Of Alberta is always a special event, but there hasn’t been a game that had real deal playoff implications in a long time. The Flames come into this contest in 4th place in the Pacific, the Oilers in 3rd. The Flames are 6th in the West, the Oilers 5th. They’re also tied with the same PP% and PK%. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up.

The Flames are very up and down as of late, going 3-3-0 since the calendar change to 2017. The Flames are literally in a win one, lose one pattern and they need to put together a little run to gain some ground on the likes of the Oilers and Sharks. The Oilers are the exact same 3-3-0 in the new year and used a phenomenal month of October to put themselves in prime playoff position. Edmonton started the season at 7-2-0, pitching 2 shut outs and only giving up more than 4 goals twice. Connor McDavid finds himself atop the league in points (50) and assists (36) and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

With the history between these two teams being what it is, the BOA is always entertaining. But the fact that these two teams are in a dog fight for the playoffs and are only separated by 3 points brings this rivalry to a whole other level. The Flames lead the all time series 128-114-19 and the Flames are 8-2-0 in their 10 when visiting the Oilers.

Here’s how the teams match-up:

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Calgary Flames 1 NJ Devils 2

The Flames last took the ice on Friday night and slept through 3 periods of play against the NJ Devils. NJ came into this game with a completely different energy than Calgary and it looked as if the Flames were looking towards their next contest against the Oilers. Sean Monahan scored the Flames only goal and Chad Johnson stopped 34 of the 36 shots he faced in the loss. Here’s our recap, the highlights, post game reaction and stats from the contest.

Edmonton Oilers 3 NJ Devils 2 (OT)

Oddly enough the last time Edmonton skated it was against the Devils as well and with different results. Edmonton needed overtime, but they got an OT goal from Leon Draisaitl (16) and avoided a three game losing streak. Copper and Blue has the recap and NHL.com has the highlights.

Players To Watch

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Calgary Flames: Brian Elliott (G). It’s almost certain Brian Elliott will get the start in net against the Oilers tonight. Elliott had a rough start to the season as he dropped both games to the Oilers to start and gave up 12 goals on 57 shots in both of those losses. Elliott had turned it around lately, winning 5 straight before dropping one to the Canucks back on January 6th. Elliott is 3-2-0 in his last 5 starts against the Oilers.

Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid (C). I don’t see how it could be anyone but McDavid. McDavid is on a tear lately, getting 7 points (all assists) in his last 5 games and has 32 of his league leading 50 points on the road. He’s also had very good success against the Flames. This season so far in 2 games McDavid has 3 goals and 3 assists and prior to this season the Oilers captain had 2 goal and 1 assist in 3 games.