Calgary @ Edmonton preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 28, 2019 ) Edmonton 2, Calgary 3

The Edmonton Oilers will host the season’s first installment of the battle of Alberta Friday against the Calgary Flames as the provincial rivals sit a single point apart in the Pacific Division standings. The extra days off through the holidays were needed for an Edmonton team which has played a league-high 12 games this month, but owns just nine points to show for it (4-7-1).

The Oilers were 13-0-1 entering Monday’s contest against Vancouver when leading after two periods but surrendered three third period goals in a 4-2 setback. “(We’ve) been on the road, been at home, we’ve been travelling a lot (and) playing a lot of games in a short period of time,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid told reporters. “Obviously we’re not making excuses for ourselves, but guys are tired and this break comes at a good time.” The Flames used the added rest to regroup after going 1-3-1 in their last five contests, following a seven-game winning streak to open interim coach Geoff Ward’s tenure. “We can be happy with some of the ground we made up from where we were 11 or 12 games ago,” Ward told the media. “But, at the same time, we can’t be satisfied. We have to make sure we come back off the break and we’re focused, and we have a big four-point game right away with Edmonton.”

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West

ABOUT THE FLAMES (19-15-5): Calgary scored a season-high three power-play goals in a convincing 5-1 win at Dallas on Sunday, but were shut out less than 24 hours later in a 3-0 setback in Minnesota. While not playing at the pace of his 77-point campaign a season ago, 22-year-old Matthew Tkachuk is leading the Flames this season with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists). Left winger Johnny Gaudreau has been a streaky scorer for Calgary as he’s found the back of the net 10 times this season, but owns two separate streaks of 10 or more games without a goal.

ABOUT THE OILERS (20-16-4): McDavid’s league-leading 28 power play points leaves him five shy of his career-high of 33 set last season while the superstar center has already tied his career-high with nine goals on the man advantage. Leon Draisaitl leads the league with 10 points on the power play in December while also sporting a league-worst minus-19 rating during that stretch. Mikko Koskinen has taken the reigns as the Oilers No. 1 goaltender as his .913 save percentage in nine starts this month has been considerably better than backup Mike Smith’s .826 mark in four December appearances.

OVERTIME

1. Edmonton has the league’s best power play (29.7 percent) while Calgary’s penalty killing unit ranks third (84.8).

2. This is the first regular season meeting between the teams since swapping James Neal and Milan Lucic in July. Lucic has three goals and five assists for the Flames while Neal has produced 16 goals and seven assists for the Oilers.

3. Flames C Mark Jankowski tallied 31 goals and 57 points over the last two seasons, but has no goals and one assist in 32 games in 2019-20.

PREDICTION: Oilers 5, Flames 4