Heading into their first Battle of Alberta matchup of the season Wednesday, the visiting Calgary Flames are the hotter team, not the host Edmonton Oilers.
While the Oilers are unsurprisingly in the mix for the top spot in the Western Conference, the Flames are riding a four-game winning streak.
Coming off an impressive 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Flames — projected to be a bottom-feeder this season — have won five of their past six games after opening the campaign with five consecutive regulation losses.
“It all starts with us playing the right way,” said forward Matvei Gridin, who scored twice and recorded three points against Toronto. “And then because we play it the right way, we can afford to do some fun stuff with the puck. Four (wins) in a row, we’re playing great hockey right now and just keep doing that.”
Calgary also defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings during its winning streak. The victory over Toronto snapped the Maple Leafs’ four-game winning streak and capped an undefeated homestand for the Flames.
“We look like a faster team right now, because I think we’re doing things the right way,” coach Ryan Huska said. “We’re playing a simpler brand of hockey and it’s resulting in more opportunities and guys are now having success, so you can see the confidence starting to grow.”
The Flames have won 60 consecutive games in which they scored at least four goals, the third-longest such streak in NHL history, behind the New York Rangers’ 65-game run (2011-14) and the Boston Bruins’ 61-game streak (1927-31).
The Oilers will conclude a five-game homestand that began with wins over Minnesota and Carolina but has since gone off the rails. Edmonton followed a 7-2 thumping at the hands of the Maple Leafs on Saturday with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Red Wings on Monday.
The Oilers surrendered the lead three times against Detroit, but coach Mike Babcock said the adversity could benefit his team as it pursues the Stanley Cup.
“As soon as you ever get breathing room and say we’re going pretty good, you’re not,” Babcock said after Tuesday’s practice. “That’s the reality of the situation, night in and night out, you’ve got to find a way to be better. Teams are checking us hard and I appreciate that. It gives us the best chance to get better.”
The Oilers are also facing the possibility of being without forward Zach Hyman again. He left the Detroit game midway through the second period after hitting his head against the glass while being checked by Andreas Englund. Hyman missed the first six games of the season with an upper-body injury sustained during the preseason.
On the positive side, center Jason Dickinson is expected to return after missing six games, while defenseman Mattias Ekholm appears ready to return after sitting out the past two contests with a head injury.
“I’ve been feeling good since a few minutes after it happened. Luckily I have felt good ever since. I think I have an angel watching over me, because it could have been a lot worse,” Ekholm said.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid continued his torrid scoring pace. He has collected 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) during a 12-game season-opening point streak and has recorded at least one assist in all 12 games, tying the NHL record shared by Sebastian Aho (2018-19), Ken Linseman (1985-86) and Wayne Gretzky (1982-83).