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G30: Flames @ Oilers - More Scoring...Less Punches

December 9, 2018, 1:24 PM ET [154 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT

Last time the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames squared off, we were privy to an old school Battle of Alberta. The first period was a brawl straight out of the 1980's with fisticuffs, dirty plays, and some goals. Lucic and Kassian in particular were fully on-board for the physical aspects of the game, and McLellan rewarded them by playing them in the top 6....

And that is where things started to snowball out of control for the Oilers. Looking at the graph below, take a wild guess when Lucic and Kassian were inserted into the top 6.






Old school "hockey purists" will say that when one hockey team starts to get physical, that the other team needs to respond in kind and while it is true to a degree... it is a philosophy that is becoming outdated.

Last time the Oilers played the Flames they continued to try and win the physical game while Calgary instead decided to win the actual game. No one was discussing how Edmonton was the best bully after the game...they were just discussing how they lost.

Mike Babcock echoed these sentiments recently after he was asked by media why there wasn't a physical reaction to the hit on Auston Matthews by Red Wings player Niklas Kronwall.

"Our toughness is our power play, take all the penalties you want."


HOW DOES EDMONTON STACK UP AGAINST CALGARY




Last season one of the Flames greatest weaknesses were their secondary scoring so Brad Treliving addressed it by adding two top 6 scorers in James Neal and Elias Lindholm. Neal has failed to meet those needs in a failure of Milan Lucic proportions, but Lindholm has flourished on a line with Monahan and Gaudreau. The Flames offensively are a far superior team to the Edmonton Oilers.

LINEUPS

OILERS

Chiasson-McDavid-Draisaitl
Khaira-RNH-Puljujarvi
Lucic-Brodziak-Kassian
Zykov-Spooner-Rattie

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Gravel-Benning

Koskinen

- No surprise, the Oilers are going with the same roster that won to the tune of 7-2 against the Wild, with the only exception being Mikko Koskinen gets the start. Cam Talbot is 8-4 career versus the Flames and gave the Oilers two strong showings over their past two games. I would have considered giving him another start but Hitch is giving Mikko a chance to respond.

FLAMES (via DailyFaceoff)

Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Tkachuk-Jankowski-Bennett
Mangiapane-Ryan-Neal
Czarnik-Quine-Hathway

Brodie-Hamonic
Hanifin-Andresson
Kylington-Prout

Rittich

- Some shenanigans against the Wild will leave the Flames without a couple of key pieces. Mikael Backlund is out with a concussion after being hit by Matt Dumba, while Mark Giordano has a two game suspension for a kneeing of Mikko Koivu. Also some guy named Ryan Lomberg also got a game suspension.

4 KEYS TO VICTORY

1) Keep Emotions In Check It's great to see how many Oilers players have some extra pep in their step when they face off against Calgary, but the reason the Oilers have been successful as of late has been because of the responsible system Hitch has them playing. The Oilers need to come out strong against Calgary, but remember what their coach has taught them and focus on playing hockey, as opposed to who hits more.

2) Calgary Just Beat Nashville Without These Guys. I hope Kenny H reminds his players of this before the game begins. Calgary played against one of the best teams in the West without their top defenceman, and one of the best shutdown centers in the league, and still managed to control play for most of the game. Edmonton is facing off against currently the best team in the West (spits) and they need to treat them as such.

3) One Weakness? Mike Smith appears to have reclaimed his starter job from Rittich. Rittich was pulled in Columbus after allowing 3 goals on 14 shots, and his last start before that was November 28th where the Flames lost in OT where David Rittich posted a .857 Sv%. The Flames backup will get the start tonight and Edmonton needs to do everything in their power to not allow him to regain his confidence.

4) 4th Line Secret Weapon. I thought Valentin Zykov played a solid game, having not played for a month. He made a number of smart plays, including one sharp pass which gave Spooner a dangerous shot on net. His foot speed wasn't a noticeable issue once he was in motion, but his first couple of steps certainly need work. Zykov and Rattie each had a 76.92 CF% while Spooner had a 69.23CF%. Being in Edmonton, this line should continue to get favourable match-ups and hopefully can build off a a strong first showing.

FILM OF THE DAY

Battle Of Alberta games are always something to get pumped over. The Raid Redemption is a fantastic, yet brutal movie that has some of the best fight choreography I have ever seen in a film.

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