The Edmonton Oilers take on the Calgary Flames Saturday night at Rogers Place in their first meeting since the Oilers ended the Flames season in the spring.
On May 26, Connor McDavid scored in overtime to give the Oilers a 4-1 series win.
“Anytime there’s an overtime goal in the playoffs, especially a series-clinching one, it’s always fun. I shouldn’t say it’s always fun. I’ve never really done it before. It was my first time,” chuclked McDavid after Friday’s practice.
“It was definitely a goal I’ll never forget.”
Both teams won their season openers 5-3. The Oilers took down Vancouver on Wednesday while the Flames toppled Colorado on Thursday.
The Flames made bigger moves in the off-season. Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau left Calgary. Defencemam MacKenzie Weegar and forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri were the high-profile additions.
“Kadri is a hard guy to play against,” said McDavid. “Huberdeau is such a great playmaker.”
Warren Foegele and Kailer Yamamoto were full participants in Friday’s practice. Head coach Jay Woodcroft didn’t confirm if they’ll play after missing Wednesday’s game. The Oilers called up defenceman Philip Broberg from Bakersfield while sending Devin Shore down.
Duncan Keith, who retired in July, will remain with the Oilers in player development.