Favorite moment of season: Oilers defeat Flames in Battle of Alberta

The NHL season was paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. During the break in the action, NHL.com writers will each look back at his or her favorite memory of the season so far. Today, staff writer Tim Campbell writes about the Edmonton Oilers' first win in four games against the Calgary Flames in the Battle of Alberta.

The Battle of Alberta is alive and well.

And after three intense games played by the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, the fourth game at Scotiabank Saddledome on Feb. 1 is my favorite memory of the season.

Connor McDavid scored two goals for the Oilers, and Leon Draisaitl had four assists in an 8-3 victory, a game that featured the usual feistiness between the rivals including a rare fight between goalies, in this case Mike Smith of the Oilers and Cam Talbot of the Flames.

The Flames won their first three games against the Oilers: 5-1 in Edmonton on Dec. 27, 4-3 in Calgary on Jan. 11 and 4-3 in the shootout in Edmonton on Jan. 29.

The rivalry normally carries a blend of dislike and intensity, but the Feb. 1 game, broadcast on "Hockey Night in Canada," was enhanced by the tight race in the Pacific Division. The teams entered the game tied in the standings, and the victory vaulted Edmonton into second place with 62 points, two behind the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames remained at 60 points and fell to fourth place, one point behind the third-place Vegas Golden Knights.

Edmonton started fast with goals by Kailer Yamamoto and Zack Kassian in the first 65 seconds. Despite falling behind 2-0 and 4-1, Calgary settled things down to make it 2-1 midway through the first period and 4-3 by 10:14 of the second.

But the Flames couldn't catch up to the Oilers, who held a 49-26 advantage in shots on goal. And the game boiled over with 24 seconds remaining in the second period and Edmonton leading 6-3, culminating in the Smith-Talbot fight.

Each goalie was given a game misconduct, so Mikko Koskinen of the Oilers and David Rittich of the Flames had to complete the game.

Rittich reentered the game. He started for the Flames but was replaced by Talbot when McDavid's power-play goal made it 4-1 for the Oilers at 3:18 of the second period.

Though the physical nature of the game -- the teams combined for 102 penalty minutes -- dominated postgame conversations, Oilers coach Dave Tippett was more focused on finally defeating the Flames.

"We needed a win against these guys," Tippett said. "We thought we played real well last game (the 4-3 shootout loss) and didn't get the win. Our guys played accordingly."

Perhaps best of all, fans on either side of the Battle of Alberta care about the rivalry like they have not in many years.