Four things to watch for in the Battle of Alberta rematch:
1. Rasmus Andersson vs Connor McDavid. Andersson may not start on the top pairing but I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets moved up to it in game. He saw a handful of shifts against McDavid last time out, particularly in overtime, and I thought he defended McDavid extremely well. Nobody has the foot speed to keep up but I think Andersson’s positioning, stick work, patience (he doesn’t bite and get caught swimming), and edge make him an ideal guy to play against No. 97. They’ve gone H2H for ~15 minutes over the last couple years and Edmonton has only created one high-danger chance (while giving up five) in that time. Stopping McDavid is nearly impossible so if you think you might have a solution to at least slow him down, you gotta try it.
2. More fireworks. I know Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk already duked it out and squashed their beef, so to speak. Even though Tkachuk lost the fight, that didn’t stop him from taking runs at Kassian the rest of the game. He also mixed it up with James Neal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and...heck, it’d probably be easier to list guys Tkachuk didn’t piss off. I think he’s going to continue frustrating Oilers players and that’ll undoubtedly create some flare ups. Zac Rinaldo, if he dresses, has made it clear he wants a chance to go with Kassian. McDavid isn’t too happy with Mark Giordano following what he felt was a knee. There are plenty of other battles to watch for, too. I don’t think anybody will go crazy off the hop – the game is too important – but if a little fuel is added to the fire, and/or one team starts to gain separation on the scoreboard, I think there could be a lot more noise.
3. Goaltending. David Rittich is really establishing himself as an upper echelon netminder. More often than not you can bank on a quality start from him. At the very least, he’s not going to do much to kill your chances. The same can’t always be said of his opponent, Mike Smith. The 37-year-old has largely performed at an underwhelming level this season and he was a mixed bag last time out. With Mikko Koskinen starting in St. Louis, it’s safe to assume we’ll see Smith again vs Calgary. I think Rittich is a good bet to out-perform Smith, which probably means the Oilers *have* to out-play the Flames in a road B2B. I’m not sure I’d bank on that happening.
4. Discipline. Last time out the Flames took three more penalties than they drew. That’s bad news vs anyone, let alone the team featuring arguably the best power play in the league. Edmonton has scored more PP markers – and generated more chances – than anyone so a legitimate case can certainly be made. Though late penalties didn’t cost the Flames, the Oilers’ power play had some looks and it easily could have been the difference in the game. They need a better penalty differential this time around, especially with the Oilers in a 3-in-4 situation. Don’t give them easy opportunities to produce.
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