Thirty-one years ago. That was the last time we saw a Stanley Cup Playoff battle of Alberta..With the Edmonton Oilers beating the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 of their first-round series on Saturday night, the puck is now in the Calgary Flames zone. With a Flames win on Sunday night, we would finally see a playoff battle of Alberta again..The last time these two teams met in the playoffs on April 16, 1991 the Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames four games to three when Esa Tikkanen scored six minutes and 58 seconds into the first overtime period of game seven..The Calgary Flames were unable to close out their series with the Dallas Stars on Friday night, losing that game 4-2..The Flames are looking for more from some of their top players on Sunday night. Tyler Toffoli, Blake Coleman, and Matthew Tkachuk have yet to score in the playoffs this year..During his press conference Saturday, head coach Darryl Sutter said, “For guys that haven’t been in Game 7s, it’s time to step up.” Sutter has never shied away from asking for more from his players. “There’s guys in this series that haven’t been as productive as they’d like. It’s an opportunity to be a hero too.”.With Alberta’s recent economic struggles and two years of the pandemic, a Battle of Alberta could not come at a better time. We have already seen crowds in the thousands at the outdoor viewing parties in both Edmonton and Calgary, hockey fans are ready to have some fun again..Concerns for the Flames before Sunday’s game included a possible suspension to defenceman Nikita Zadorov and a possible injury to defenceman Chris Tanev. Fortunately for the Flames, Zadorov avoided suspension for his hit on Star’s forward Luke Glendening with the Department of Player Safety saying, “the head contact was determined to be unavoidable.”.Sutter said Tanev will, “see the doctors and get some treatments today.” As per usual during the playoffs, the team is being tight-lipped about the extent of the injury..The last Game 7 the Flames played in was in 2008 against the San Jose Sharks, losing 5-3..All Alberta hockey fan’s eyes will be on the Flames Sunday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
