FGD 47: The 240th Battle of Alberta (8pm MT, CBC)
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoFriends, this one is gonna be good. For the 240th time in the history of their respective franchises, the Calgary Flames (24-17-5, 53 points) and Edmonton Oilers (24-17-5, 53 points) will meet in the regular season. For the first time in what seems like forever, the game is going to be pretty damn important for the playoff aspirations of both sides in a jam-packed Pacific Division.
Grab some snacks and join us! The action begins just after 8 p.m. MT on CBC and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.
The Flames
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Mangiapane – Lindholm – Tkachuk
Gaudreau – Monahan – Backlund
Lucic – Ryan – Dube
Rinaldo – Rieder – Bennett
Gaudreau – Monahan – Backlund
Lucic – Ryan – Dube
Rinaldo – Rieder – Bennett
Giordano – Brodie
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
Cam Talbot starts for the Flames, backed up by David Rittich. Today’s projected scratches are Michael Stone and Mark Jankowski. The Flames have three former Oilers dressed: Talbot, Milan Lucic and Tobias Rieder.
The Flames are 16-10-3 against the Oilers since Mark Giordano became captain in 2013, with 13 of those wins coming in regulation. Since their triumph over the Oilers on Dec. 27, the Flames have gone 4-2-0 and allowed three or more goals in four of those outings.
Interim coach Geoff Ward detailed the keys to the Flames putting together another strong outing (like they had in Edmonton six games ago):
Being mindful of what our game is. There’s an identity we want to play to and there’s a process that we follow in order to play to that identity. There’s important things in our structure that we need to pay attention to. When we pay attention to all those things, we ice a good game. Some of those things get away from us, then our game’s not so good.
Making good puck decisions and executing clean breakouts from the defensive zone were mentioned as two of the keys to the Flames’ success.
The Oilers
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Neal – McDavid – Kassian
Nugent-Hopkins – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Nygard – Sheahan – Archibald
Khaira – Haas – Chiasson
Nugent-Hopkins – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Nygard – Sheahan – Archibald
Khaira – Haas – Chiasson
Nurse – Bear
Klefbom – Larsson
Jones – Russell
Klefbom – Larsson
Jones – Russell
Mikko Koskinen starts for the Oilers, backed up by Forever A Flame Mike Smith. The extra Oilers bodies are Patrick Russell, Sam Gagner and William Lagesson.
The Oilers look to be dressing four former Flames tonight: James Neal (19 goals), Alex Chiasson, Kris Russell and Smith (opening the gate on the bench). It’s Smith’s first game back in Calgary since leaving via free agency, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect a video package of some type at the first TV timeout.
Since their Dec. 27 loss to the Flames, the Oilers have gone 4-0-1 and played some of their best hockey of the season. They also nearly blew a 6-0 lead against the Rangers.
The Numbers
| Flames | Oilers | |
| Wins | 24 | 24 |
| Points | 53 | 53 |
| Adjusted Corsi | 49.9% | 47.6% |
| Power Play | 19.0% | 29.5% |
| Penalty Kill | 82.8% | 83.2% |
Injury Report
The Flames are without D Juuso Valimaki (ACL surgery).
The Oilers are missing D Matt Benning (head).
When Last We Met
The Flames beat Edmonton 5-1 back on Dec. 27. These teams play tonight, then three more times before the end of the season – including a match-up on the final night of the regular season.
Know Thy Enemy
Here are some key Twitter peeps to follow for tonight:
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