Oilers Gameday – Vs. Flames

The Oilers reach the mid-way point of a homestand tonight with the fifth and final meeting of the Battle of Alberta as they host the hated Calgary Flames. Edmonton has collected a point in every game against Calgary thus far, going 2-0-2 against their arch-rival. That said, both of the Flames extra time wins have come in the two meeting at Rexall Place.

The Oilers will see the return of forward Jordan Eberle, who missed Thursday’s game against Buffalo with a knee injury. The Oilers will again be without forward Nail Yakupov, who was banged up last Sunday in Carolina. The Oilers will likely remove seventh defender Phil Larsen from the lineup, who has played the last two games. Edmonton saw a two-game winning streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to Buffalo on Thursday.

The Flames come into Edmonton playing the second half of back-to-back games, as the team lost an entertaining 6-5 game to Nashville last night at the Saddledome. The Flames will scratch forward TJ Galiardi in favor of tough guy Kevin Westgarth, while the team will also get goalie Kari Ramo back, who recently missed 15 games with an injury. Flames forward Mike Cammalleri, who shockingly was not dealt at the deadline, has been playing his best hockey of the season in this recent stretch.

The Oilers will turn to Viktor Fasth in net tonight, while Kari Ramo makes his return to the Flames lineup.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: I’ve had to say this a lot lately, but for Edmonton tonight is about playing a full sixty minute game. The Oilers looked good for about 30 minutes on Thursday, and as a result lost that hockey game. If Edmonton can bring the intensity for 60 full minutes tonight, they certainly can win this Battle of Alberta.

Calgary: The Flames have had a lot of success at Rexall Place recently, and that is because they stay within their game plan. Tonight’s key is simple for them, play your game. The Flames have slowed the Oiler offense down all year with tough, physical and hard working efforts. Play that game tonight, and they will once again leave Edmonton with two points.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: The Oilers offense really only had one line going on Thursday, but gets a big boost with the return of Jordan Eberle tonight. Eberle has very good career number against the Calgary Flames, and will be looking to prove tonight he is fully healthy and ready to roll. I fully expect Eberle to prove that on the national stage against the team’s arch-rival.

Calgary: Flames rookie center Sean Monahan has played very well in all four games against Edmonton this season, and has already found the back of the net against the rivals on multiple occasions. Monahan could be a star in the making for the Flames, and I suspect he finds the back of the net yet again tonight.

Gameday Prediction:

First thing is first, Luke Gazdic and Kevin Westgarth go at it tonight in a heated scrap towards the start of the hockey game. The Oilers shock the world and out-shoot the Flames, and Edmonton rebounds from a tough effort on Thursday night to win this hockey game 4-1 tonight. I like Eberle, Pitlick, Hendricks and Ference to get the goals.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner- David Perron

Anton Lander – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Tyler Pitlick

Luke Gazdic – Ryan Smyth – Ryan Jones

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry

Mark Fraser – Oscar Klefbom

Viktor Fasth

Calgary Flames Lines:

Curtis Glencross – Matt Stajan – Jiri Hudler

Mike Cammalleri – Mikael Backlund – Paul Byron

Kenny Agostino – Sean Monahan – Joe Colborne

Kevin Westgarth – Lance Bouma – Brian McGrattan

Mark Giordano – T.J. Brodie

Ladislav Smid – Tyler Wotherspoon

Kris Russell – Chris Butler

Kari Ramo