Battle says its goodbyes to Rexall
Flames visit rink for final time as rivals clash to avoid basement
It’s unfortunate that the last Battle of Alberta at Rexall Place has to be a battle to stay out of last place, but there will still be some nostalgia in the air when the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames meet Saturday night.
There are a lot of memories, some of them even good, as the Oilers head into their second-last game in Rexall.
“We’ve had some good battles with Calgary in their building and some great battles at Rexall,” said Oilers winger Taylor Hall, who expects the Oilers to be pretty charged up for this one.
“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to have more success at Rexall Place, it would have felt a lot more special, but it’s been an amazing time there and Calgary is a team that’s pretty easy to get up for.”
If the Oilers are going to win one game against Calgary, fans in Edmonton want it to be this one.
“We’ve talked about finishing strong in this rink, giving the fans something to cheer about,” said Jordan Eberle, who did exactly that, scoring the goal of the year in his first game as an Oiler six seasons ago against the Flames.
“It’s going to be an emotional couple of nights. For me, it started with the Battle of Alberta in my first game and it will be cool to finish it off. It will be cool to be a part of that.”
This game might not matter in the standings, but don’t tell Connor McDavid it doesn’t matter at all.
“No hockey game is meaningless,” he said.
NUGE A MAYBE
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has been out with a concussion, skated hard Friday and is a strong maybe for Saturday.
“He skated a lot today, a lot more than he has before, but we won’t fool around with him,” said head coach Todd McLellan, adding they will make absolutely certain he’s clear. “If we all think he’s ready to go and he thinks he’s ready to go, we’ll play him.”