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Last time the Edmonton Oilers faced off against the Calgary Flames there was plenty riding on the line. Edmonton was in danger of being bumped out of a playoff spot; a regulation loss to the Flames would result in Calgary surpassing them in the standings. There have been so few match-ups between the Alberta teams in the past decade that have really meant something but that was not the case here.
The first Battle of Alberta of the 2019/2020 season should have had a playoff atmosphere with two good teams fighting tooth and nail against one another.
Calgary scored 11 seconds into the game and the Oilers never truly recovered after that. Edmonton would lose 5-1 to the Flames on home ice.
Tonight will be the fifth game Calgary has played in January and the Flames will be looking to win a fifth straight game. So far the Rangers, Blackhawks, and the Wild (twice) have all fallen to the Southern Alberta team. Each game has been decided by a single goal.
Meanwhile the Oilers haven't been slouching either with points in their last four games with a single loss coming against the Sabres. Edmonton won what should be considered tougher games against Boston and Toronto and also managed to come back to defeat a desperate Canadiens team.
Both the Flames and Oilers have identical records through the first 46 games of the season going 24-17-5. Whoever wins tonight will not only move ahead of the other team in the standings, but will also take sole possession of first place in the Pacific.
Every player in the Oilers locker room has to be thinking of how they got embarrassed by their provincial rivals last game while each player in the Flames room has to be thinking how sweet it would be to do that again. Even if you are not a fan of either team this should be a game to tune in to as both should be coming out swinging.
1.) Goalie Swap (Just Kidding) - It was expected that Smith and Talbot would face off against one another tonight but it looks like Tippett is giving Mikko Koskinen the nod. Talbot has been stellar in January; he has won his last three starts with a Sv% of 0.977, 0.969, and 0.889 in those games. In his most recent game he stopped 42 of 43 shots against the Wild.
Koskinen hasn't played since December 31st in a white knuckled victory where Edmonton was up 6-0 and ended up winning 7-5. Koskinen doesn't have a game with a 0.900 Sv% or better since December 18th. Having said that, the team in front of Koskinen and Smith were brutal for most of December and the goalies cannot be completely faulted for those numbers. Mikko will be looking for payback from his last appearance against the Flames.
2.) Tempo - Shockingly, when the Edmonton Oilers are playing well they tend to score more goals and when they play poorly they tend to get scored on. Victories against Toronto and Boston were a direct result of the Oilers coming out of the gates hard and ready to play from the puck drop. When leading after the first period Edmonton is 14-2-2 on the season. Getting that first goal is huge.
3.) Tough On Pucks - The first two goals Calgary scored the last time these teams faced off were a direct result of Edmonton being too soft on the puck. On the first goal RNH whiffed on the puck and Lindholm centred for Mangiapane and on the second goal Nurse lost the battle for more than 100 feet resulting in the Tkachuk goal. The Oilers have been good once again with their checking and can't allow Calgary to have nearly the same space they had last time.
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FILM OF THE DAY
In the real world there aren't any do-overs and we have to live with the decisions we've made. Winning tonight won't undo the abysmal performance Edmonton gave fans last time these teams fought but it will show resilience and help the team move closer to locking down a playoff spot.
The movie Click is all about do-overs and while most Adam Sandler movies get a bad rap (for extremely good reasons), this is a surprisingly heartfelt film.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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