Young stars on both sides keep Battle of Alberta a must-watch event

EDMONTON -- The Battle of Alberta between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers is rich in tradition and emotion. That is not open to debate.
Whatever the state of their respective teams, it's always been meaningful for fans on both sides. They live for it.
They're going to have to be a little more patient with the present-day provincial rivalry as the teams search for some traction.

This season started with much hope but the rivalry has not been front and center. After a slow start the Flames are third in the Pacific Division with 58 points going into the NHL All-Star Weekend, and the Oilers are in sixth place with 47 points. Not only are they 11 points behind the Flames, they're points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference.
The latest game in the rivalry, Edmonton's 4-3 shootout win against Calgary at Rogers Place on Thursday, had its own excitement and energy, but it illustrated that the rivalry just isn't quite what it could again be.
The game had a dull start, something you'd never have seen during the golden era of the Battle of Alberta, when the teams played each other five times in the playoffs, the last of those in 1991.
But the intensity picked up in the second period and the buzz was back.

"Any time we have a divisional rival it's a huge game," Flames center Sam Bennett said. "And obviously there's even more excitement and build-up when it's the Battle of Alberta, and we feel that.
"I think [the Oilers] feel it too. It's always a hard-fought battle and I expect it to be like that for a long time."
The Oilers' victory was their third in a row this season and seventh consecutive against the Flames going back to the start of last season.
That has not deterred the Flames.
They have points in 11 straight games (7-0-4), a run like the second-half surge that put them into the playoffs last season as the first wild card from the Western Conference.
All four Edmonton victories last season came before Calgary got on track as the head-to-head series was done by Jan. 21, 2017. The Flames, who finished with 94 points, had the best record in the NHL (17-7-1) from Feb. 15 to the end of the regular season.
There was some Battle of Alberta fever for a week or two in late March and early April when it appeared the Flames and Oilers could meet in the postseason.
The hope was kindled because each franchise appeared to be on the way up, with younger talent and cores, and each was headed for the postseason. It had been 11 years since that was the case.
But the matchup didn't happen, and isn't likely to happen this season.

That's because Edmonton has struggled mightily in so many areas.
Among the biggest concerns are defensive issues. They allow 3.18 goals per game, 25th in the League, and their penalty kill is 31st at 72.2. It's even worse at home, where their 56.6 percent success rate would be the worst in the NHL since the Washington Capitals' 66.7 percent success rate in 1977-78.
The Oilers have been hearing the criticism from all corners, so while the Battle of Alberta always seems to provide a boost, it will take more than efficiency against the Flames to get them where they want to be.
"Some guys handle it (criticism) differently than others," Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. "Some guys can fold up, but I don't think our team does that. We obviously deserve all the criticism that we have been getting, but for a lot of us it's motivating. We want to shut people up.
"You're in your home building, hearing the boos. That can be embarrassing. We're looking for an effort that makes the fans happy but makes ourselves happy. We want to feel good about ourselves as well."
The teams will play twice more this season, in Calgary on March 13 and March 31.
A full Battle of Alberta rekindling may not be in the cards this season, but don't give up on it.
The Flames have the look of a team on the rise, with young players like forwards Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, and defenseman Dougie Hamilton, and they have been stabilized by the addition of veteran goalie Mike Smith.
While this season's step back by the Oilers has been painful, it doesn't change the fact that several of their key players are 22 or younger, including forwards McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Jesse Puljujarvi, and defenseman Darnell Nurse.
"All we're really concerned about is ourselves and how our team's doing," Bennett said. "But I think the fans should definitely be excited for this."