Edmonton @ Calgary preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 29, 2020 ) Calgary 4, Edmonton 3

For the second time in four days, the battle of Alberta will take place when the Edmonton Oilers and the Flames renew their rivalry in Calgary on Saturday. Wednesday’s showdown was a testy affair that saw Flames center Sean Monahan receive his first career fighting major before scoring the shootout winner in a 4-3 Calgary victory.

The win moved the Flames two points ahead of the Oilers in the Pacific Division at the time and after a tension-filled first period Wednesday - with Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk also dropped the gloves - any animosity between the provincial rivals took a back seat to the goal of moving up in the standings. “Our only concern right now is to get two points,” Monahan told reporters. “When you’re playing your rivals like that, obviously you want to step up and want to earn those points and we did that tonight.” The Oilers are back even with the Flames after a 4-2 triumph over the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues on Friday as Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals and took sole possession of the NHL scoring lead with 79 points. Draisaitl has amassed seven goals and 11 assists during a 10-game point streak while Edmonton captain Connor McDavid was held without a point Friday for just the second time in his last 13 contests and has posted seven goals and 11 helpers over that span.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: CBC, CITY, Sportsnet, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet 360

ABOUT THE OILERS (27-18-6): Defenseman Matt Benning missed almost two months with a concussion but snapped a 35-game goal drought in his return Wednesday, and followed it up with an assist against the Blues. Goaltender Mikko Koskinen made 30 saves Friday and on the second night of a back-to-back will hand the crease over to Mike Smith, who finished January with a 5-0-2 record, .920 save percentage, and 2.54 goals against average. Kassian inked a four-year contract extension following Wednesday’s contest as the 29-year-old has 13 goals and 15 assists in 46 games this season - one shy of his career high of 29 points set in 73 games in 2013-14.

ABOUT THE FLAMES (27-19-6): Left wing Andrew Mangiapane snapped an 11-game stretch without a goal by netting a pair Wednesday - his first multi-goal performance in 104 career games. Elias Lindholm potted his team-leading 21st goal of the season against Edmonton and is tied with Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau with a team-best 14 points on the power play. Goaltender David Rittich is expected to be between the pipes for the Flames Saturday as the 27-year-old has won both meetings against the Oilers this season, but is 0-3-1 with an .875 save percentage in his last four home starts.

OVERTIME

1. Oilers C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 160 career goals and is two away from tying Shawn Horcoff for 10th-most in franchise history.

2. Tkachuk has drawn an NHL-best 148 penalties since entering the league in 2016-17.

3. Draisaitl leads the NHL with 24 multi-point games. The Oilers are 19-3-2 in those contests.

PREDICTION: Flames 3, Oilers 2