Preview: Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers 1/29/20 (52/82): Two HUGE Points Are Up For Grabs

Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers 8:00 PM MT, Rogers Place, Edmonton AB

TV: TVAS, SN360, SNO, SNW – Radio: SN960

Calgary Flames 26-20-5 (58 pts) – Edmonton Oilers 26-18-5 (57 Points)

NHL Standings

Buckle up! The Flames and Oilers will tangle for the third time this season on Wednesday night and it’s the first of back to back games between these two provincial rivals.

The Flames come into this contest having dropped two in a row, but have secured a point in seven of their last nine games. The Oilers meanwhile have won two in a row and are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. The Oilers will catch a break as the Flames are coming off a shootout loss on Tuesday night at home and Edmonton has had 10 days to rest.

With all of that out of the way, the big question is: will this game get out of control? The Flames and Oilers last played on January 11th with Calgary winning 4-3. That game got a little hairy at the end of the second period as Edmonton’s Zack Kassian had enough of Matthew Tkachuk’s borderline hits in that game and rag doll’d Tkachuk, repeatedly punching the Flames star in the head. Kassian’s penalties would lead to Elias Lindholm’s game winning, PPG and the Flames would end up with a 2-0 series lead on the season.

The league was clearly not happy with the incidents on the ice (Kassian was suspended) and they have let both teams know they will be in the building on Wednesday night to make sure no shenanigans take place during the third round of the Battle Of Alberta.

Honestly, there’s a lot at stake here and I think both teams will come to play hockey. Calgary moved ahead of Edmonton in the standings by getting a point Tuesday night and a regulation win would move them three points ahead of the Oilers. The Edmonton fans would like nothing more than to see Tkachuk get his in their own building, but is the trade off of doing something stupid worth sacrificing two points in a heated race in the Pacific Division? I say no, but Kassian’s action back on January 11th showed otherwise. His retaliatory actions cost Edmonton two points and I can’t see it being worth it to the Oilers this time around.

It’s been rough sledding for the Flames when visiting the Oilers as they’ve dropped five of their last seven games when heading up the road. Calgary did win in their only visit so far this season, a 5-1 manhandling of Edmonton back on December 27th. A win tonight would secure a regular season series win for the Flames, something they haven’t done since 2016.

Starting Goalies

Flames: Rittich (Expected) 19-12-5, 2.77 GAA, .913 SV%

Oilers: Koskinen (Expected) 14-9-2, 2.90 GAA, .910 SV%

Team Leaders

Flames – Goals: Lindholm (20), Points: Gaudreau (40), PIM: Lucic (38), Save%: Talbot (.922)

Oilers – Goals: McDavid (27), Points: McDavid (76), PIM: Kassian (64), Save%: Koskinen (.910)

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Edmonton Oilers Coverage: Copper ‘N Blue

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 4 – St. Louis Blues 5 (SO)

Edmonton Oilers 7 – Arizona Coyotes 3

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Johnny Gaudreau (F): 4 points in last 5 games

Edmonton Oilers

Oscar Klefbom (D): 3 points in last 5 games

by Mark Parkinson