Just as the hockey world anticipated when the schedule was released, it’s the first Sunday evening of the 2024-25 season and the undefeated Calgary Flames (2-0-0, 4 points) are visiting the winless Edmonton Oilers (0-2-0, 0 points) in the first Battle of Alberta of the campaign.

The Flames have been scrappy and found ways to win so far. The Oilers have, meanwhile, found ways to lose. Can the Flames keep their momentum going, or will they get a rough reception at Rogers Place?

Tonight’s broadcast begins at 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet’s national feed and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Here’s how the Flames looked on Saturday against Philadelphia:

Sam Honzek – Nazem Kadri – Andrei Kuzmenko
Jonathan Huberdeau – Martin Pospisil – Anthony Mantha
Connor Zary – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg – Justin Kirkland – Adam Klapka

MacKenzie Weegar – Daniil Miromanov
Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Jake Bean – Brayden Pachal

Given Dustin Wolf started against the Flyers, we’re expecting to see Dan Vladar in net, backed up by Wolf. Saturday’s extra skaters were Matt Coronato, Tyson Barrie and Joel Hanley, so we’ll see if head coach Ryan Huska makes any tweaks.

Just as everyone predicted, the Flames head into the Battle of Alberta with a sterling record. And moreover, they won two very different games: a dramatic comeback after going down 4-1 in the first period against Vancouver, and a pretty composed win where they never trailed against Philadelphia. The Flames have gotten some contributions from most areas of their lineup, and both sides of special teams, and while there are definitely things to tidy up – they’ve had iffy starts in two straight – but they’ve deserved the four points they’ve earned.

While it’s a bit early to declare the rebuild over, it’s a great start for a group that a lot of the hockey world completely wrote off over the summer.

Here’s how the Oilers lined up on Saturday against Chicago:

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
Jeff Skinner – Leon Draisaitl – Viktor Arvidsson
Mattias Janmark – Adam Henrique – Connor Brown
Vasily Podkolzin – Derek Ryan – Corey Perry

Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Travis Dermott
Brett Kulak – Ty Emberson

Based on Calvin Pickard starting against Chicago, we’re expecting Stuart Skinner to start in net, with Pickard as his backup. The Oilers’ extra skater on Saturday night was Troy Stecher.

Here’s what we know about the Edmonton Oilers:

The Oilers are going to be cranky after the start they’ve had. And they’re guaranteed to be emotionally engaged with their favourite opponent visiting. Buckle up, this game could get wacky.

The Flames are without Yegor Sharangovich and Kevin Rooney.

The Oilers are without Evander Kane.

This is the first of three Battles of Alberta in 2024-25. They meet again in Calgary on Nov. 3 and in Edmonton on Mar. 29.