So here it is, Game 263 in the Battle of Alberta.
And that’s only regular-season games in this rivalry. Add another 34 in the playoffs.
The Edmonton Oilers are behind in the career regular-season series 112-122-19-9. In the playoffs, different story, of course with the Oilers up 23-11.
Here’s what we do know: Stuart Skinner, who has stopped 71 of 73 shots over the first two games this season back in October will be in the Oilers net Tuesday. For the Flames? Who knows? Backup Dan Vladar won his start in Edmonton. The titular No. 1 Jacob Markstrom, who lost in Calgary, has dropped five in a row to the Oilers if you go back to the playoff loss in the spring. So, a head-scratching choice for Flames’ coach Darryl Sutter.
The first two games this season, back in October were one-goal games. The Flames beat goalie Jack Campbell four times on their first 11 shots in the first period Oct. 15 with Mikael Backlund banging in Michael Stone’s shot in the first two minutes. Stone had three points in that first-period explosion before Skinner came in to stop 31 straight as they withstood a late Oiler charge to win 4-3 at Rogers Place.
On Oct. 29 at the Saddledome, the Oilers rallied with goals from Connor McDavid (bad angle shot that caught Markstrom napping) and Zach Hyman in a three-minute span in the third period to win 3-2. Skinner made 40 saves for the Oilers in his Battle of Alberta coming-out party.
CHASING A LEGEND
While Tyson Barrie, stuck at 99 goals, continues to fire pucks to get his 100th, he just ended a fine eight-game run of assists. It’s the second best assist streak by an Oilers defenceman after Paul Coffey’s 17 in 1985-86.
Barrie is currently seventh in defence scoring with his 27 points, just two back of Norris trophy winner Cale Makar in Colorado, for comparison basis.
But that 100thgoal? Elusive. He’s gone 13 games without a goal, his last one was Nov. 28 against Florida. He’s tied at 99 with Charlie Huddy. The late Zarley Zalapski along with Sami Salo (he of the big slap shot) and ex Edmonton Oil Kings D-man Phil Russell had 99 too.
HIKING OVER TO SWITZERLAND
TSN’s Dustin Neilson is again calling the games at the Spengler Cup in Davos with his colourman Kent Simpson. It took the CFL play-caller several delayed and mechanical plane issues (34 hours in Toronto after a flight from Edmonton) to get to Switzerland for the Boxing Day start, but he made it.
As did Simpson, who played in the tournament in 1999.
“No checked baggage. Ten day trip and I packed everything in two carry-ons. My wife was stunned,” said Neilson, who has to wear suits or sports jackets, hopefully wrinkle free.
The Canadian team has ex-Oilers Tyler Ennis and Colton Sceviour, both playing in Bern in Switzerland, Brendan Perlini (Chicago Wolves) and David Desharnais (Fribourg-Gotteron). Desharnais, now 36, is team captain. Also local products Daniel Carr (Lugano, teammate of Mikko Koskinen) and Kevin Connauton (Lehigh-Valley, Flyers AHL farm team).
Former Oilers draft Ostap Safin is on Sparta Praha for the tournament with host Davos, Orebro (Sweden), IFK (Helsinki) and Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland.
CHECKING OUT REAVES
The Oilers did consider trading for Ryan Reaves for their fourth line when the New York Rangers weren’t playing him but the Rangers reportedly weren’t willing to eat a chunk of his $1.4-million contract . So it was a no-go here. The fifth-round cost price was fine for the Oilers but they couldn’t afford any more than $750,000 or so on their cap.
Minnesota had the cap room and made the deal for Reaves, whose contract is up at the end of this season. Reaves is 35 but still an imposing hitter and he can shoo the flies away from the stars.
This ‘n’ that
In the last 25 years, only three NHL players have had 30 goals prior to Christmas—McDavid today, Alex Ovechkin in 2013 and Teemu Selanne in 1997… McDavid’s 30 was the first by an Oiler before Dec. 25 since Wayne Gretzky in 1986. No. 99 cooled off and finished with 52 in an 80-game season. He did have 215 points though…Former Oiler Sam Gagner is two games from 1,000 and has 11 points (six goals) in 31 games with the Winnipeg Jets … Leon Draisaitl’s assist on McDavid’s 30th against the Canucks gave him a 17-game point streak against Vancouver….Oilers assistant GM Keith Gretzky and several of the Bakersfield AHL players got stuck at the Denver airport after a game against the Colorado Eagles before Christmas and couldn’t get flights home. They ended up driving back to Bakersfield, about 15 hours … MacKenzie Weegar is still looking for his first Calgary goal after the summer trade from Florida for Matthew Tkachuk …The Flames are 3-7 in games that go past 60, and they go past regulation about a third of the time so there could be another against the Oilers Tuesday … With teams hurting on defencemen, fairly surprising that nobody put in a claim for Jason Demers at $750,000 when the Oilers had to put him on waivers to loan him to Bakersfield after his 25-game AHL PTO ended and they had to sign him to a two-way deal. Local boy Matthew Savoie, the ninth overall pick in this summer’s NHL draft (Buffalo) isn’t on Canada’s world junior team. The Winnipeg Ice centre didn’t even get an invite to their selection camp. “I just can’t understand that,” said a long-time Western-based NHL amateur scout.
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