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It's Been a While: A Battle of Alberta Game Day Special |
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To quote the early ‘00s post-grunge rock band STAIND: It’s been a while.
Jump back to Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers occupied 30th and 31st place in the standings with a single game left in the first month of the NHL Regular Season; The 2023 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic.
The game itself was almost as ridiculous as the ten-ring circus of pageantry before, during and after the event. Interspersed between sloppy transition play, cursed breakout passes, and sluggish net drives were mini-events such as marching out Jarret Stoll in an Oilers jersey to wave at the crowd.
Edmonton took the game 5-2, powered by a goal and two assists from Evander Kane and a .923 outing from Stuart Skinner. The fans in the former City of Champions had a good time watching their team climb from 31st place into 30th in the standings, and that at least was a win.
The two teams headed off in their own directions after that. The Oilers would go 1-4-0 before firing Head Coach Jay Woodcroft and hiring Kris Knoblauch, a move that kickstarted a 22-6-0 run that has vaulted the Oilers out of the basement and into a Pacific Division playoff spot. The team comes into tonight on a 12-game winning streak.
And the Flames?
They got things going a little sooner and a little slower. Connor Zary made his NHL debut the next game; a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars. Despite losing the outing, Flames fans were encouraged by Zary’s play. The 22-year-old scored a goal on his first shot and controlled the tempo of play when he got control of the puck.
The next game, Martin Pospisil joined the team in his own rookie debut. He too scored a goal in his first game. A 6-3 win over the Seattle Kraken.
While the Flames don’t look as good in the standings (three points behind LA for the final wildcard spot and having played three more games), their record is a respectable 19-12-4 since uniting Zary, Kadri, and Pospisil on a line. Good for 12th place across the NHL in that time. The Flames have won four of their last five heading into tonight’s match.
It certainly has been a while. Tonight will feature round two of four in the 2023-2024 Battle of Alberta. A few notes, thoughts, and observations prior to the bloodbath.
Rookie Swapping
Martin Pospisil is out of the lineup for a few weeks after suffering a head injury on Thursday. The 24-year-old Slovakian’s skate collided with Leafs star Auston Matthews’ skate, and Pospisil took a spill into the boards. His timeline is estimated at a few weeks. For the sake of his mental health, you have to hope that he takes all the time needed to get back to a healthy place before resuming NHL play.
2021 13th overall pick Matthew Coronato has been called up to take his place on Kadri and Zary’s right side. The product of Huntington, New York, has 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points in 27 AHL games this season.
Flame Killers
Leon Draisatl and Connor McDavid are likely to play a major role in tonight’s affair. Leon Draisatl has six goals and 32 assists in 22 games against Calgary since 2019-2020. McDavid trails only a bit from that mark with 18 goals and 18 assists in as many appearances. If the Flames can manage to contain those two star forwards, they have a solid chance of winning the night.
Goaltender Drama
Flames number one goaltender Jacob Markstrom remains out of the lineup tonight after suffering a lower body injury earlier in the week. Daniel Vladar gets the start and has played admirably in Markstrom’s absence, posting a .920 save performance against Arizona on Tuesday and .879 against Toronto on Thursday in a game that featured a bevy of high-quality saves.
Dustin Wolf will serve as backup tonight despite sitting out the morning skate. Markstrom took the ice time to evaluate whether he was ready to go.
Rookie Lap
Tonight will mark towering Czech forward Adam Klapka’s first NHL game. The 6-foot-8, 235-pound right shot winger has 10 goals and 11 assists in 33 games with the Wranglers this season. Klapka has nearly reached last season’s point total (13 goals, 12 assists, 25 points in 60 GP) in half as many games with 10 goals, 11 assists, and 21 points in 33 games.
Calgary Flames Projected Lineup
Huberdeau-Lindholm-Sharangovich
Zary-Kadri-Coronato
Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman
Greer-Ruzicka-Klapka
Weegar-Andersson
Hanifin-Tanev
Oesterle-Gilbert
Vladar
Wolf
Edmonton Oilers Projected Lineup
RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Kane – Draisaitl – Foegele
Janmark – McLeod – Ryan
Gagner – Holloway – Brown
Nurse – Ceci
Ekholm – Bouchard
Kulak – Desharnais
Skinner
Puck drop at 8:10 p.m. MST. Catch the broadcast on Sportsnet.
Trevor Neufeld
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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