NHL Heritage Classic Preview: Flames and Oilers Take Battle of Alberta Outside

With the Heritage Classic drawing near, fans are hungry for the next iteration of Alberta's historic hockey battle. With big storylines heading into the game, it's time to see who will come out on top.

The Calgary Flames travel north to take on the Edmonton Oilers in the first Battle of Alberta of the 2023-24 season and this year's edition of the NHL Heritage Classic.

The NHL returns to Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton after 20 years and will take the 260th meeting of these two provincial rivals outside for the very first time. The hardened rivalry between these two western Canadian teams should make this an outdoor game you won’t want to miss.

Here are some of the big storylines heading into Sunday's showdown at 7 p.m. ET.

This will mark just the third time in Connor McDavid’s career that he will miss a Battle of Alberta game as the Oilers superstar is out with an undisclosed upper-body injury. The Flames need to capitalize on the missing three-time Hart Trophy winner as they have a 17-19-3 record against the Oilers since McDavid was drafted. The Flames have bested their in-province rival all-time with a 129-106-24 record in 259 meetings, but the Oilers stand atop in games that matter with a 23-12 playoff record.

It’s bound to be a close physical game and it begs the question of who will get a subtle edge? In games without McDavid, the Oilers are 1-1-0 versus the Flames so nothing to write home about there. Both teams also have one win in two outdoor game appearances, which again doesn’t help. But how about the big stage itself? For outdoor games, the home crowd not surprisingly has proven to be a factor as the hosting team has a record of 13-4-1 in the past 18 outdoor games.

If you need an edge on which way to go in this one, it looks like the over 60,000 fans in attendance might be the difference-maker for the Oilers.

In all but one of their 17 wins against Edmonton since McDavid’s arrival, the Flames have scored three or more goals which means they will be looking to go on the offensive, while the Oilers have struggled defensively so far this season, as they rank second-worst in the league in goals against per game (4.50).

Calgary will lean on center Elias Lindholm, who is tied for the team lead in scoring with six points in eight games. He has 21 goals and 35 points in 35 career games against Edmonton, which makes him the Flame with the second-most career points against the Oilers behind captain Mikael Backlund, who has 44. They’ll both look to put up points, but another Flame to consider is winger Andrew Mangiapane, who is tied with Lindholm for the team lead in points and leads the team in goals with three in eight games. He has been good against the Oilers as well, registering a point in four of his last five games versus Edmonton.

You might think the colder temperatures would hinder both teams’ ability to score, but in actuality, that's not the case. There have been five or more goals in 25 of 37 NHL outdoor games so far. Edmonton’s first Heritage Classic back in 2003 was one of the coldest games in hockey history (0 F/-18 C), and despite this, the game still finished with seven goals and a 4-3 victory for the Habs over the Oilers.

Both teams are looking to improve on their slow start to the 2023-24 season and put up big numbers on one of the biggest stages in the sport. This game should have fireworks, with both teams scoring in high volume and making the over in total goals seem very promising.

The Oilers made an impressive run to the Western Conference final last season and were looking to build on that success, as they were listed as one of the top two contenders when betting lines opened for the Stanley Cup this season.

However, their slow start hasn’t been good as a 1-5-1 record puts them in second-last place in the West. Their odds of bringing home Lord Stanley’s mug have dropped to 10-1, per BetMGM. The slow start could be attributed to second-year coach Jay Woodcroft and his coaching staff experimenting with line changes that have been problematic, to say the least. The bottom six for the Oilers have combined for zero points so far this season, and all have a negative plus/minus rating.

It is only the beginning of the season, however, and this team is just as talented as it was last year. All their top players beyond McDavid and Leon Draisaitl – like forwards Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and defenseman Evan Bouchard – are averaging a point per game.

The Oilers have mostly had a top-heavy team in recent years, but it’s still worked for them. They’ve made it to the playoffs the past four seasons, and last year, they made it with four players having over 80 points and the rest of the roster having mostly under 40.

If the Oilers leave Commonwealth Stadium with a win, it could propel this struggling team in the right direction and make 10-1 look like a great investment.