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Heritage Classic hardly a celebration for Oilers, Flames after disastrous starts
With a player-friendly coach in Ryan Huska and a rejuvenated Jonathan Huberdeau, the Flames were everyone’s bounce-back team — a punter's darling in every sense.
Of course, they barely noticed up in Edmonton, as they stocked the fridge with champagne and filed their parade permits.
The regular season didn’t matter at all in Northern Alberta, in a self-proclaimed “Cup or bust” campaign.
Oilers vs. Flames roundtable: Why both teams are struggling ahead of Heritage Classic
This Flames team lacks cohesiveness at both ends of the ice. The offence has struggled to score at five-on-five and with the man advantage, despite their attempts at wanting more creativity and skill on offence.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska wants his team to have the mindset to play fast, but they aren’t lapping many of their opponents with their skating. The Flames’ fourth line of A.J. Greer, Yegor Sharangovich and Walker Duehr can provide that. But it shouldn’t be their strongest skating line if they want to be competitive.
The Heritage Classic will feature just the fifth venue to host the Battle of Alberta
The Calgary Flames will visit the Edmonton Oilers for the first time this season on Sunday. Rather than play a game at Rogers Place, they’re headed a bit northeast of downtown Edmonton for the 2023 Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium.
The game will be the 260th regular season meeting between the two teams (295th if you include playoff games), and Commonwealth Stadium will become just the fifth venue to host a Battle of Alberta.
Now or never as Edmonton Oilers teeter on the brink of a crisis
This tepid trail of frustration would fit right in to 2007 through about 2019. If the Oilers were still muddling their way through the Decade of Darkness nobody would bat an eyelash at what we’ve been watching so far. Not with draft lotteries to be won and coaches to be fired (four lottery wins and 10 different coaches if you’re scoring at home).
Oilers look to reboot season in Heritage Classic showdown with archrival Flames
The Oilers are off to a dreadful start, winning just one of their first seven games. McDavid, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, has missed the team’s last two games with an upper-body ailment.
His absence was noticeable in Thursday’s 3-0 loss to the Rangers, which, save for a couple of goalposts and some spectacular saves from Stuart Skinner, could have been far worse.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said that McDavid skated Thursday, but was noncommittal if the superstar would be available for Sunday’s tilt at Commonwealth Stadium against the Calgary Flames.
“We have time till our next game, so we’ll see how he is (Friday),” said Woodcroft. “He skated (Thursday) so I take that as a good sign.”
