Photo credit: NHL.com

By Curtis Galbraith

Hockey

Local coach assesses Oilers-Flames series

May 18, 2022 | 6:00 AM

It has been 31 years since Alberta’s two teams have met in the NHL playoffs.

That ends Wednesday night when the Edmonton Oilers visit the Calgary Flames in Game 1 of their second-round series.

County of Grande Prairie JDA Kings head coach Kyle Chapple expects it to be a physical series.

“I think Calgary likes to play that style, so I would think that they’re going to try and push the Oilers around a little bit, but there are some guys in Edmonton too that can push back and, obviously, anytime you have Connor McDavid on your team, you’ve got an advantage.”

Chapple says goaltending will also be a big factor in the series.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

“(We’ll) see how Mike Smith holds up because (Jacob) Markstrom is Calgary has had a great year and it is going to be up to Mike Smith to hold the fort for Edmonton if they want to stay in the series.”

Chapple says Smith should have extra motivation after Calgary let him go in free agency.

He adds the Oilers have been a lot better since adding forward Evander Kane and naming Jay Woodcroft the head coach.

“(In the) first round, Evander Kane was great. He was all over the score sheet and he was physical.”

“(Woodcroft) has got them buying in to playing (the) full 200 feet so they’re not just trying to score goals as much as maybe they did in the past and they’re defending a little better.”

When asked for a prediction, Chapple picked Edmonton to win in seven games.

“I think everybody would love to see a seven-game series with these two teams. We want to get as many games out of them as we possibly can.”

Game 2 will be in Calgary Friday. Games 3 & 4 will be back in Edmonton Sunday and next Tuesday.