FIGHT FOR PLAYOFF POSITIONING SPICES UP THE BATTLE OF ALBERTA

You’d never think to pack any SPF-30 for a late January trip to Edmonton.

Perhaps, this was an exception. “I’m going to get a sunburn from all the lights here,” grinned Calgary Flames interim head coach Geoff Ward as he stepped into a circle of reporters — and in front of a wall of cameras with their LEDS flicked on high — at around noon Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, site of the much-anticipated instalment of the NHL’S Battle of Alberta.

This, just to be clear, was not a case of a cheeky Calgarian cracking wise about Edmonton’s slightly-worse winter weather.

Then again, a bit of meteorological mockery would barely register after some of the barbs that have been traded since a

Jan. 11 meeting between the Flames and the archrival Oilers, when Matthew Tkachuk and Zack Kassian did their darnedest to reignite this rivalry.

The stars on both sides insisted prior to Wednesday’s rematch — the first half of a home-andhome set that shifts Saturday to the Saddledome — they weren’t thinking about any sort of knuckle-chucking retribution.

“It’s more about the playoffs than anything,” stressed Oilers captain Connor Mcdavid. “I know that the fans and everyone want to make it something else. But in this room, we’re focused on the two points.”

Playoffs?!?

That stock answer might have seemed silly in years past.

Thing is, the focus on the post-season promises to add more spice to the Battle of Alberta.

Separated by 300 km of blacktop on the QEII Highway, this will always be a natural regional rivalry. But suddenly, and finally, these two squads are in even closer proximity in the Pacific Division standings … and not near the bottom.

Heading into Wednesday’s late date, the Flames were sitting second with 58 points.

The Oilers were just one point back, with a pair of games in hand.

“I think it makes it awesome, to be honest,” said Flames forward Milan Lucic, who spent the past three winters with the enemy. “I think it’s great for the game when two teams that are geographically this close together are neckand-neck in the standings, and I think it adds to the rivalry.

“I was fortunate enough to be a part of a Boston-montreal rivalry where we were neck-and-neck in the standings so many years while I was there and even the year I was in L.A., us and Anaheim, we battled all year long for the top seed in the Pacific Division. It’s one of those things that just adds to it and I think it makes it better, because I think it’s been a long time since we’ve gotten to almost February where both teams are a point apart in the standings here in the Battle of Alberta.

“So I think it’s awesome for fans of the Oilers and the Flames, I think it’s great for the game of hockey and I think Albertans are excited that it is what it is as a rivalry right now.”

Flames captain Mark Giordano is currently the longest-serving chap on either side of the Battle of Alberta.

In his dozen previous campaigns as a regular in Calgary, his crew has qualified for the spring dance only five times. (Giordano was injured for two of those.)

The Oilers have earned just one post-season invitation over the same span.

During that stretch, their end-of-season separation in the standings has always been sixplus points, except for during the lockout-shortened slate.

“It feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve been in this situation this late in the season — both teams,” Giordano said prior to Wednesday’s clash. “It’s a good thing for hockey. I think it’s a great thing for our sport. These are easy games to get up for.

“These are the games that you really have to look forward to. They don’t come around too often.”