PREVIEW: Oilers at Flames

The Edmonton Oilers return from the holiday break with a Battle of Alberta rematch against the Calgary Flames on Saturday at Scotiabank Saddledome.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet & Hockey Night in Canada at 8:00pm MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers at Flames

CALGARY, AB – Back at it with another Battle -- this time down south.

After winning their first festive fixture 5-1 over the Calgary Flames this past Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers will rematch their provincial rivals in the Battle of Alberta on Saturday at Scotiabank Saddledome to start a two-game road trip coming out of the holiday break.

The Oilers went into the break 8-2-1 in their last 11 games, outscoring opponents 49-32, following their convincing 5-1 win on home ice earlier this week over the Flames that was guided by Connor McDavid's five-assist performance and Leon Draisaitl's ninth career regular-season hat trick.

"You look at the way the team's rolling right now and winning a lot more games, it starts with those two, and they're playing extremely well," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "For three or four weeks, they've been really rolling, and those two are head and shoulders above everyone else."

Edmonton is 19-13-6 this season, winning six of its last eight games, and is tied for first place in the Pacific Division alongside the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights, with a heavy home schedule of 14 of its next 21 at Rogers Place coming up as the new year and January approach.

"A great opportunity for our group here," McDavid said. "We're home for most of January, and we don't go east again. We've gotten a lot of tough trips out of the way. We're healthy. We're only getting healthier. A little bit of a break, and I like where our group can go. This is a big month for us coming up. We've got to take advantage of this schedule at home here and make a good push."

Edmonton has had more recent success in the series, going 8-3-1 in their last 12 meetings and outscoring the Flames 39-30 since the 2022-23 season.

Draisaitl passed 1,000 career points earlier this month and achieved another milestone in Tuesday's win over the Flames by scoring his 416th, 417th and 418th career goals – all on the power play – passing Glenn Anderson for the third-most goals in Oilers franchise history.

The German has a point streak of five games with three goals and nine assists over that span after his hat-trick ended his nine-game goalless drought.

McDavid's five assists were the 12th time he's recorded five points in a game, while pushing his incredible point streak to 11 games, totalling 12 goals and 19 assists, and leading the NHL in scoring at the Christmas break with 67 points (23G, 44A) through 38 games.

In addition to Zach Hyman filling the scoresheet with a goal and two assists, Evan Bouchard had two helpers, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins notched a power-play goal to make it six straight games for the Oilers with a goal on the man advantage (10-for-26 over that span).

Goaltender Connor Ingram made 18 saves to pick up his second straight win.

"I thought it was as good as it's been," McDavid said. "Really solid all over. Special teams were great, and five-on-five, we generated lots and didn't give up much. Our goalie played well, and a lot of things to like."

The Oilers made a roster move on Friday by announcing that forward David Tomasek will be placed on waivers on Sunday following the NHL's holiday roster freeze for the purpose of contract termination. The 29-year-old played 22 games with the Oilers this season, scoring three goals and two assists.