5 THINGS - FLAMES VS. OILERS
Flames look to win this season's Battle of Alberta when they host northern rivals tonight
Video: Brendan Parker previews tonight's Battle of Alberta
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
Projected Lineup
'The Boys Loved It' - Hanifin
Say What - 'Should Be a Fun One'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2022-23 Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Elias Lindholm (32)
Goals - Tyler Toffoli (14)
Oilers:
Points - Connor McDavid (66)
Goals - McDavid (20)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 19.5% (23rd) / PK - 80.7% (10th)
Oilers:
PP - 32.3% (1st) / PK - 72.3% (26th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.06% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 51.34% (16th)
Oilers:
Shot Attempts: 50.35% (17th)
High-Danger Chances: 52.74% (11th)
It was a heckuva way to head into the Christmas break.
The Flames went 3-0-1 on their four-game swing through California, finishing up with a 3-2 OT victory against the Ducks on Dec. 23, Rasmus Andersson scoring the game-winner.
>> CLICK HERE FOR GAME RECAP
The win accomplished the team's stated goal before they left the then Alberta deep freeze for sunny SoCal - get into a playoff position by Christmas.
The pair of point vaulted them over, who else, but the Oilers for second wild-card spot.
And while they were able to celebrate the Christmas break with a few egg nogs for making good on that goal, head coach Darryl Sutter was quick to point out the real work will come now as they look to keep a postseason berth - and climb the standings - in the back half of this campaign.
"You know what, this has been a grind for our team," said Sutter of the stretch drive to their three-day Christmas vacation. "They need a break and tonight was just about digging down there a little bit, that's pretty clear. A lot of games.
"Doesn't get easier."
Video: Condensed Game: Flames @ Ducks
The Oilers had a rough path to Christmas, losing four of their last five - although one was in OT and another in a shootout.
Their most recent outing was a 5-2 loss to the Canucks at home on Dec. 23.
Derek Ryan and Connor McDavid scored to stake the homeside to a 2-0 lead after the first period but J.T. Miller would tally a pair in the second period to tie it up after 40 minutes.
Bo Horvat then scored twice and Ilya Mikheyev also lit the lamp to close it out.
"We had the start that we wanted and then we cough it up," McDavid, who extended his point streak to 15 games, told NHL.com. "It was not the second period that we wanted, but we still had a chance. We have to find a way to win that game, there is just no way around it."
Zach Hyman had an equally blunt take.
"It's unacceptable," he said. "We had a really good start and were up 2-0 and were the fresher team, and then they scored five unanswered. Obviously you can't win like that."
Stuart Skinner made 25 saves in the contest, while Colin Delia got his first victory as a starter for the Canucks turning aside 31 pucks.
Video: "The difference is how the division is playing"
BOA THIS SEASON:This is the third and final edition of the Battle of Alberta during the 2022-23 campaign, with the Flames and Oilers having split the two meetings so far. Their first meeting came on the Flames second game of the season in Edmonton which saw an early Flames offensive onslaught with first period goals from Backlund, Stone, Kadri and Mangiapane on 16 opening-frame shots. Kadri's goal was his first as a Flame, Michael Stone would go on to record his first three-point game in the NHL and Dan Vladar made 20 saves to help the Flames win round one of the Battle of Alberta 4-3. In their second meeting, Mikael Backlund scored his second against the Oilers this season shorthanded, Brett Ritchie also tallied for Calgary, but two goals from Zach Hyman would help the Oilers take the second meeting 3-2.
MARKY MARK:Jacob Markstrom turned aside 21 of the 23 shots he faced on Friday night at the Honda Center to help the Flames knock off the Ducks 3-2 in overtime. With the win, Markstrom moved into a tie for the sixth most regular season and playoff wins combined in franchise history (75). Markstrom tied Trevor Kidd who spent five seasons with the Flames from 1991 to 1997 playing in 178 games over the course of his time as a Flame. Markstrom is in his third year as a Flame and has amassed the 75 wins in 142 total games in a Flames sweater.
HOT STARTS:Michael Stone scored 4:19 into the game on Friday night in Anaheim to give the Flames an early 1-0 lead, marking the 13th time this season the Flames have scored in the opening five minutes of a game so far this season which leads the NHL in goals in the opening five minutes of a game. The Flames have scored in the games opening five minutes in three-straight games, including the Stone goal along with Jonathan Huberdeau scoring 3:23 into the game in Los Angeles and Tyler Toffoli and Dillon Dube both scoring in the opening 30 seconds in San Jose.
Stick tap to Flames Communications Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow him and the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more.
Flames - Tyler Toffoli
Toff's been on a tear! The Flames forward has four goals and seven points in his last four games and is hitting his stride at this crucial juncture of the season.
Oilers - Connor McDavid
Pretty hard to go with anyone else. He's leading the league in goals and points, and his current 15-game point streak (14 goals and 17 assists) is the longest currently in the NHL.
For the first time since 2009, the first two Battle of Alberta matchups in a season have both been decided by one goal. The last time was Oct. 3, 2009 (CGY 4 @ EDM3) and Oct. 8, 2009 (CGY 4 @ EDM 3 SO).
