Toronto and Detroit both just finished trips through Alberta, so the 2 clubs have a common measuring stick. Calgary beat Detroit 4-1 and Toronto 5-2. Edmonton lost to Toronto 7-2 and then dropped a 4-3 shootout to Detroit after a 3rd period where both teams scored twice. The Oilers have lost 2 straight at home. They still banked a point in the shootout loss, and they've lost only 2 games in regulation all season.
Calgary's best recent hockey has come with Mikael Backlund back. He missed 2 games with an upper-body injury, returned against Toronto and scored, tying Johnny Gaudreau at 609 career points with the Flames. Matvei Gridin had 2 goals and an assist in that game and has become the forward the Leafs couldn't handle. Calgary also beat Toronto for the first time since February 2022, snapping an 8-game losing streak against the Leafs. The Flames are still without Jonathan Huberdeau (hip), who has skated with the team but isn't close to returning, and Samuel Honzek remains on IR.
The catch for Calgary is location. All 4 wins in the streak came at the Saddledome, and the last road game was a 6-2 loss in Vegas. Puck drop at Rogers Place is 6:30 PM MT. Edmonton's injury list runs to 8 names, including Jason Dickinson, Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark up front. Even so, the Oilers piled up 6 goals against both Utah and Carolina this month, so a short-handed crease doesn't automatically mean a quiet night. The question Wednesday is whether Cooley's run holds up against an Oilers attack that can score in bunches, and whether Edmonton's backup-to-the-backup can survive the Flames' tight-checking style long enough for the scorers to take over.