Edmonton Oilers Look to Scorch Calgary Flames on Halloween

First off, Happy Halloween! One of my favorite holidays. I love the atmosphere, the spookiness. Plus, I love that it’s on a Saturday night and that the Edmonton Oilers are facing their wicked rivals to the south, the Calgary Flames.

Right now, it’s kind of a tale of two teams, despite being only a three point difference between the two rivals. Edmonton pulled off a surprising 4-3 win over the mighty Montreal Canadiens. Our very own, Kurt Leavins had a great post game recap, and it was a shocking win. They were down 3-0 at the end of one period! It was another route incoming! Yet, the Edmonton Oilers did something very un-Oiler like: They dug in and battled back for a victory. Montreal did not even get a point.

The Calgary Flames on the other hand, faced the same team without Carey Price in net and got spanked, 6-2. Dale Weiss scored a hat trick. This is even with TJ Brodie returned the line up.

It’s very interesting of these two teams because there’s a sense of panic coming out of Calgary right now. Yes, there was going to be some regression coming from the Flames based off last season, but I do not think anyone had them being this terrible. Not with additions like Dougie Hamilton or Michael Frolik. The third period magical comebacks are gone.

To think that this is one of the most important games for either team, this early in the season, would be something else and yet here we are.

Reasons why the Oilers could win/lose

Why the Oilers could Win:

They beat Calgary before : What a game that was. It was Connor McDavid’s breakout game and the Oilers had their way with the Flames all night with a 5-2 win. Considering how difficult it is lately to win in Calgary and on the national spotlight with Hockey Night in Canada, it was a big win for the team. It would be a start of a brief three game winning streak.
The Flames are struggling: badly: To be blunt, the Flames are not a very good hockey team at the moment. Their offense has dried up. Gaudreau and Hudler (and I guess Monahan with 7 points in 11 games) are the only Flames that are producing. They are a one line team at the moment. Their defence has not been as advertised. The goaltending is awful: of the three goaltenders, the highest save percentage is 0.879. The Edmonton Oilers need to feast on their problems and not take the foot off the pedal the entire night.
3. The Flames played last night: Sure, the distance between Calgary and Edmonton is nothing when flying but playing back to back nights is difficult. I remember a couple years ago, there were plenty of groans when the Oilers had plenty of back to back games, mostly being against Calgary for the second game. It’s a factor.

Why the Oilers could Lose:

Injuries: The Oilers are really banged up and are relying on young guys like Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse to play some heavier minutes. Yes, they’ve been downright great in their small sample sizes but they are missing quite a few warm bodies.
They take the Flames lightly: Even with the Flames struggling, do not be shocked if the Flames came out hungry and angry. The Oilers cannot take a struggling team lightly.
The Defence makes same old mistakes: We’ve seen it repeatedly this season; the Edmonton Oilers still make some awful defensive decisions. They will strike again tonight, it just depends on the severity of those mistakes

Who to Watch

Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid

The kid has 12 points in 11 games. He’s leading the Rookie scoring. He’s fifth in league scoring. He had his breakout game earlier against Calgary. He’s the center of attention in Edmonton and with extremely good reason. You could write an essay about how good this kid is. He was the straw that stirred the drink of victory against Montreal. He’s downright amazing and there should be some expectation that he continues this against the struggling Flames.

Calgary Flames: Johnny Gaudreau

Yes, he was my focus the last time the Oilers played the Flames, but he’s pretty darn good. He had some nifty moves against Ottawa and is the Flames leading scorer. He seems to be the only player who is bringing a consistent game for the Calgary Flames’ offence. The Oilers are weak defensively and Gaudreau is crafty enough to take advantage of that. He’s dangerous.