Calgary Flames best Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in pre-season Battle of Alberta
Arguably one of the best-known and most popular rivalries in the National Hockey League today is the Battle of Alberta. However, in Sunday night’s pre-season matchup, most of the electricity
and energy seemed to be missing.
The Edmonton Oilers battled hard in this clash of the Western Conference titans, but it was the Calgary Flames who came out on top with the 1-0 shutout victory. The game’s sole tally came
from new Flames acquisition Alex Tanguay, who was signed along with Olli Jokinen during the offseason.
Calgary captain Jarome Iginla was satisfied with the win, as he felt the Flames’ winning ways during the pre-season exhibition games may have helped to deter some of the naysayers.
“It's very positive, especially when everyone's written us off that we're not going to be a very good team,” Iginla said. “In here, we feel we're going to be a very good team and we're
going to be better than last year. We've been trying some new things and this makes us a more confident team going into the season.”
The win was Calgary’s seventh in seven exhibition games. They are the only team to maintain a perfect 7-0 record in the pre-season. Edmonton completed their pre-season run with a respectable
4-2 record.
Games played between the Flames and Oilers are usually known for their high levels of passion, energy and action. Howver, with only one goal and seven penalties in this game, the excitement
was just not there. That didn’t deter Iginla, though. The veteran forward said that the last pre-season game is always a challenge for the players.
“This is probably one of the harder ones, it really is,” said Iginla. “Everyone's been in camp for a few weeks now, we've been skating for a couple months, and you can't wait to get going,
especially when you're going to be playing them again. It's like a dress rehearsal.”
Goaltender Miika Kiprusoff made 27 saves in the game to earn the shutout. His most crucial save was made in the third period on a Jordan Eberle shot from close range. Kiprusoff kicked
up his leg to bat the puck away right in the nick of time.
“He's looked ready right from day one,” Iginla said of Kiprusoff’s efforts. “Even though sometimes fans think he's just happy-go-lucky, he's very driven, a very competitive guy, and you
can see he's in great form already.”
Tanguay beat Oliers goalie Devan Dubnyk at 5:36 of the first frame after Dubnyk failed to hold onto the puck. He played in the first half on the game, and made 17 saves. Jeff Deslauriers
played the other half of the game, and made 10 saves.
The Flames and Oilers will face each other again on Thursday night. The game will be the season-opener for both teams.
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