EDMONTON, AB - Bring on the Battle.
The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames have waited until the end of December to renew their rivalry tonight in the first Battle of Alberta of the season at Rogers Place, with four more meetings still to come in the final half of the '19-20 NHL campaign.
With all that can be made each time these two provincial rivals intersect in one of hockey's most heated rivalries, tonight's clash will be ripe with storylines.
The first meeting of the season between the Oilers and Flames comes with both clubs separated by one point in the Pacific Division, meaning the Battle of Alberta will take on extra importance for the Oilers tonight and with four more renditions slated to be played in their final 41 games of the campaign.
"We're used to playing Calgary pretty early in the year, so to get them at this time of the year at the halfway point, with both teams really close in the standings, the points are very important," forward Zack Kassian said. "If you want to get into the playoffs, you have to do well in your divisional games. To get them right out of the break here is important."
Friday's matchup will also be Milan Lucic's first visit to Edmonton as a member of the Flames after a summer move down the Highway 2 in a trade for James Neal, who's recorded 16 goals and 23 points in 40 games for the Blue & Orange.
"When you get traded one-for-one, that's the way it's going to go. Especially when it's Edmonton and Calgary," Neal said of the spotlight. "I think the fans like it. On social media, they're going back and forth all the time, and they're passionate about their teams and want them to do well."
"I think for both of us we're focused on having a good game and doing what we can to help our team win."
Lucic suited up in 243 regular-season games over three seasons with the Oilers, deploying a physical game that always has to be accounted for by the opposition.
"He's obviously had a great career and he's a force on the ice every time he's out there," defenceman Darnell Nurse said. "He's always been a guy when you play against him, everyone's aware of when he's on the ice. He's a physical player. He's a guy that can swing games with his physical play. I don't think it's going to be any different tonight."
