PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Flames

The Edmonton Oilers will be looking to bounce back from defeat when they host the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Saturday night with important points up for grabs in the Battle of Alberta.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet & Hockey Night in Canada at 8:00 pm MDT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Flames

EDMONTON, AB – There's nothing quite like the Battle of Alberta when it matters the most, and this one will be filled with emotions for both rivals with playoff places still being contested in the West.

"Get some rest tomorrow and back at it again on Saturday," Zach Hyman said post-game on Thursday. "It's an easy one to get up for. We haven't played those guys in a while, and they're in the hunt for a playoff spot, so it'll be a good game."

Coming off a disappointing 6-1 defeat to the Seattle Kraken, the Edmonton Oilers now find themselves face-to-face with their provincial rivals the Calgary Flames for what'll be a critical Battle of Alberta at Rogers Place on Saturday night as the playoff race in the Pacific Division and Western Conference tightens up.

Saturday is slated to be the two rivals' biggest match since Game 5 of the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when Connor McDavid ended the series in overtime, and both teams are still firmly in this year's playoff hunt with the Oilers currently finding themselves in a better position despite going through a challenging stretch without two of their best players – not to mention the looming threat of the teams below them in the standings.

The Flames are eight points back of third place in the Pacific Division with a game in hand on the Oilers and only six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second Wild Card spot in the conference, still having three extra games to play on the Blues to try and make up some victories to get into the playoffs.

Both the Flames and Canucks are attempting to chase down Edmonton and replace them in the Pacific's top three alongside the Golden Knights and the Kings, and Saturday's visit from the Flames to the home of their rivals has the potential to be a big swing game in any direction for the two provincial foes.

The Canucks grabbed a point in a 7-6 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets on Friday night to sit six points back of the Oilers with one extra game played.

Calgary had won four straight games prior to outshooting Dallas 48-19 on Thursday but still being beaten 5-2 on home ice – the day after the Stars came into Rogers Place and handed Edmonton a 4-3 loss despite their late comeback push in the third period after Stuart Skinner exited the game due to injury.

The Oilers are expected to be without Stuart Skinner again for the Battle of Alberta on Saturday, along with their two superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for the third consecutive contest because of injuries after they were unavailable for Thursday's 6-1 humbling from the Kraken in Seattle.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner missed his first game with an upper-body injury he sustained from taking a knee to the head from Mikko Rantanen during the third period of Wednesday's defeat to the Stars, while Mattias Ekholm was scratched for maintenance to leave the Oilers with 11 forwards and seven defencemen.

Rantanen was also involved in an injury to Flames forward Connor Zary on Thursday during the third period after a scary incident along the boards saw him sustain a leg injury, but luckily it appears not as bad as originally thought despite his status being doubtful to face the Oilers.

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said ahead of Wednesday's loss to Dallas after Draisaitl participated in the pre-game skate that the German forward is closer to making his return than the Oilers captain, looking like it's going to be "a week or maybe shorter" for Leon and that Connor "will be longer than that."

Calvin Pickard and Olivier Rodrigue will handle the crease duties in Skinner's absence after both netminders saw action on Thursday in Seattle, where Pickard took the brunt of his team's overall poor performance by allowing five goals allowed on 29 shots in the first two periods.

Rodrigue made his NHL debut after replacing Pickard for the third period and stopped seven of the eight shots he faced. The 2018 second-round selection (62nd overall) by the Oilers became the 63rd different goaltender to appear in a game for the franchise after he was called up from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors earlier in the afternoon to replace Stuart Skinner in the lineup.

The 24-year-old has appeared in 130 AHL games in Bakersfield, compiling a record of 61-51-15 with a 2.89 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and two shutouts over the past five seasons.

Winger Zach Hyman scored the lone Oilers goal against the Kraken to register his 27th goal of the season – marking his third-highest total in a single season after scoring 54 in 2021-22 and 36 in 2022-23 – while the solitary marker extended his point streak to five games (5G, 2A) in what was a forgettable night collectively for the Blue & Orange in the second of back-to-back games.

"You're never going to replace the players that we lost night, but I think tonight wasn't a very good effort from us," Knoblauch said. "But hopefully, it's just a one off. I liked how we played with the lineup we had. The effort's been good, but playing a back-to-back against a team that was much fresher and had a lot more speed, they controlled most of the play."

Hyman has scored seven goals over his last eight games against Calgary as the Flames and Oilers get set to play the rubber match of their regular-season series on Saturday. The Flames picked up a 4-1 win on their last visit to Rogers Place on Oct. 13 before the Oilers responded less than a month later on Nov. 3 with a 4-2 victory at Scotiabank Saddledome where Leon Draisaitl, Jeff Skinner, Zach Hyman and Mattias Janmark all scored.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 6 points (1G, 5A) in his last 6 games against Calgary – the club he's recorded the most goals (18), assists (28) and games (57) against over his 14-year career with the Oilers spanning 952 games.

Goalie Dustin Wolf has been a valuable piece to Calgary's playoff push with a 2.67 GAA, a .909 SV% and three shutouts in 44 games this season. The 23-year-old is a former AHL Most Valuable Player in 2022-23 and a two-time winner of Goalie of the Year in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and his move to the NHL with the Flames has been successful as he he's assumed the No. 1 goalie role.