Calgary Flames: Three Teams Who Will Cause the Most Trouble

Number Two: Edmonton Oilers

This may have somewhat been an obvious choice. But the Battle of Alberta has started to somewhat revive and this upcoming season, it could be in full force.

This past season, the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames met each other four times. And the Oilers won all four meetings. Just this series alone, the Oilers walked away with eight points while the Flames walked away with just one. While the Oilers were ahead of the Flames by nine points, they only had two more wins than them. If the Flames performed better during their season series against the Oilers, the playoffs could have looked much different.

This season, they’ll be seeing each other five times. The Flames absolutely cannot let them win the entire series again. If the team is aiming for 100 points, this series could be the reason they don’t hit that mark if they have a repeat of last year. And for the first time since 1991, we could be seeing a Battle of Alberta in the playoffs.

Next: Roundtable: Predicting Where the Flames Finish this Season

The last BoA was in 1990-91 in the first round (the Oilers won 4-3 in that series). With new contracts to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Flames need to watch for those two. They’ll also need to find ways to get past Cam Talbot, who had 42 wins last season, which was tied for the most among all goaltenders.

Luckily for the Flames, Mike Smith seems like he can hold his own against the Oilers.

If he can back up his team and not let the Oilers score seven goals (like they did TWICE against the Flames last season), this series could be the determining factor if the Flames reach that 100-point mark.