Battle of Alberta: Flames look to learn from wild Game 1 victory over Oilers

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As chants of “We want 10” reigned down on the Saddledome, another iconic chapter in the Battle Of Alberta was written in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Calgary Flames, much to their own surprise, emerged as the victors over the Edmonton Oilers in the 9-6 affair.

Wednesday’s game was simultaneously the epitome and antithesis of playoff hockey. There were post-whistle skirmishes, face washes, and in-game chirping. There were also plenty of goals, porous defensive play, a wide-open neutral zone, and leaky goaltending.

At the beginning, it looked like the Flames would blow their provincial rivals out. Calgary scored on its first two shots and chased Edmonton goalie Mike Smith from the game before it was 10 minutes old.

“To a man, not one of us was anywhere near where we needed to be to start the game,” said Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft.

“You don’t draw it up giving up two goals on missed assignments.”

“Clearly we weren’t ready and it’s tough to play catch up for the whole night,” said Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, who had a goal and two assists in Game 1.

However, instead of a convincing victory, Calgary allowed Edmonton back into the game. The Flames surrendered multiple four-goal leads before putting the game away late in the third period. Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom allowed six goals on 28 shots.

“I think we made some mental mistakes in the second period and got away from our checking game a little bit,” veteran forward Blake Coleman said.

Flames head coach Darryl Sutter took note of how many in the hockey world saw his team’s last series against the Dallas Stars as “boring.” Wednesday’s opening game versus the Oilers was anything but.

“We were told it was a boring series last