Playoff-hunting Oilers ready for rival Flames
The Edmonton Oilers don't need any extra motivation, but it won't hurt to be facing their biggest rival at such a critical juncture. Riding a two-game winning streak -- including a 3-2 shootout decision over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday -- the Oilers (23-21-3) are right back in the mix for a wild card playoff spot. Next on the docket is a home date with the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. Nothing like the Battle of Alberta to get the juices flowing. "There's more than a handful of guys that we dislike over there, and I'm pretty sure they say the same thing about our guys," Oilers forward Milan Lucic said. "The first two games have been really emotional, so expect the same (Saturday) night." The Oilers have been a middling team for a month but have managed to stay in the playoff hunt, as every other club in the wild card battle is also sputtering. Knowing they control their fortunes has given the Oilers a bit more jump. "I think we just got a higher level of, I don't want to call it excitement, but enthusiasm because we see light at the end of the tunnel," said head coach Ken Hitchcock. "There's a lot of enthusiasm around the team right now because we feel like we're starting to play really well. We know this is going to be a big test ... but there's a lot of confidence in our game now." Said center Connor McDavid: "This is what you want as a hockey player. You want to be in the chase. It's still early, obviously, but we're in the position where the playoff push has to start now. There's a bunch of teams there and someone has to run away. It starts now." Edmonton won the last meeting, 1-0 on Dec. 9, which came after the Flames skated the night before. The Oilers are expected to have newcomer Colby Cave, claimed off waivers from the Boston Bruins, in the lineup. Cave, 24, was leading Boston's AHL farm team when he was recalled by the Bruins in November. "I grew up watching the Oilers," said Cave, who hails from Saskatchewan. "I had pennants, pajamas stuff, the usual (kid's) things." Calgary (31-13-5) arrives after beating the Detroit Red Wings 6-4 in a wild game at home Friday night, having erased four different deficits and scoring four times in the third period. Calgary has a league-high 78 third-period goals. "Another big third period for us. We keep coming back and it's a big strength of ours," defenseman Rasmus Andersson told Fan960 after the game. The Flames are riding a 6-0-1 run and their special teams are rocking it, too. With three power-play goals against Detroit, they are 8-for-14 with the man-advantage in the past six games, and they netted their league-leading 15th short-handed goal Friday night. However, they have lost in each of their past five visits to Edmonton -- every game since Rogers Place opened to kick off the 2016-17 campaign. --Field Level Media |