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"Battle of Alberta" Memories!

The Panther

The Panther

Registered User
Mar 25, 2014
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With the 2022 Battle of Alberta upon us, we should reflect on the past 5 series! All of them classics, in a way.


1983: Oilers win 4 to 1
- Oilers outscore Calgary 35-13 overall
- Game two: 10-2 Oilers, with Gretzky getting 4 goals, 3 assists, and +6.
- Game five: 9-1 Oilers
- Paul Reinhart -14 in the series, Gretzky +14.
- Messier 8 goals.

1984: Oilers win 4 to 3
- Oilers blow a 3 to 1 series lead, but recover in game 7 to take it.
- Two games go to overtime, and Flames win both (Wilson and McDonald scoring).
- Lanny McDonald 13 points.
- A very young Al MacInnis (aged 20) with 11 assists (more than Gretzky!) and 12 points.
- Gretzky 13 points.

1986: Flames win 4 to 3
- Mullen, Loob, and rookie Suter 7 points each
- Otto matches up against Messier and scores 4 goals
- Gretzky has a rough games one and two (-6) but roars back with 11 points (+3) in final five (13 points overall).
- Anderson 6 goals, but Kurri, Coffey, Messier combine for only 3.
- Mike Vernon's .896 was very good for the period, and effectively interred him as Calgary's #1 thereafter.
- "Steve Smith incident" decides game 7.

1988: Oilers win 4 to 0
- Flames slightly favored (10-4-2 vs. Oilers over two seasons), but get swept instead.
- Gretzky memorably scores twice in game two, incl. overtime SH winner, and tells Zamboni driver, "Don't bother coming back for game five."
- Kurri with nine points and a +6 (wins game one late in third period, and sets up game two OT winner), and I think he might have been the MVP of this series.
- McSorley brutally spears Mike Bullard at the latter jumps off the Calgary bench (see: video above).
- Grant Fuhr .904, Vernon .812.
- Rookie Nieuwendyk (with 2) is the only Flame to score more than once in the series.

1991: Oilers win 4 to 3
- This is the only time the teams ever met in the first round (Calgary 2nd place, Edmonton 3rd), and Flames were strongly favored.
- Oilers build a 3 to 1 series lead, capped by Dave Brown destroying Jim Kyte's face.
- Flames then mount a comeback, tying the series on Fleury's famous OT goal in Edmonton, where he slides across the ice.
- Flames blow 3-0 lead in game seven, eventually losing in overtime with a Tikkanen hat-trick (Tikk had 10 points in the series overall).
- Fuhr out-duels Vernon again.


I remain amazed that nobody died in the 1991 series, so brutal was the elbowing, hitting, fighting, hacking and whacking.


Anyway, what are you favorite moments in these classic series??
Click to read more...
 
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hacksaw7

hacksaw7

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Dec 3, 2020
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Just love the precision of the 1988 Gretzky goal. The way the entire goal unfolds with him skating down the ice, the big wind up, the slap shot....the way the puck rises up and past Vernons glove as he raises it too late (and looks back bewilderedly) as it dings off the inside post
 
frisco

frisco

Some people claim that there's a woman to blame...
Sep 14, 2017
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The Panther said:
I remain amazed that nobody died in the 1991 series, so brutal was the elbowing, hitting, fighting, hacking and whacking.
Click to expand...
For sure. NHL didn't track hits back then but this was about a physical a series as I've ever seen and probably would've set records in this category. Guys were being flattened routinely and consistently all seven games. Was dirty, too, but a lot of it was just extraordinary physical play.

Oilers looked cooked down 3-0 in Game Seven, Edmonton cut it to 3-1 then I remember Fleury taking a dumb penalty at that time. Oilers scored on the PP and got back into the game. Probably the key point in the series.

My Best-Carey
 
JianYang

JianYang

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Sep 29, 2017
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I'm too young to remember it. Very vague memories of fluery scoring in 91, but we see that highlight all the time even 30 years later.
 
hacksaw7

hacksaw7

Registered User
Dec 3, 2020
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frisco said:
For sure. NHL didn't track hits back then but this was about a physical a series as I've ever seen and probably would've set records in this category. Guys were being flattened routinely and consistently all seven games. Was dirty, too, but a lot of it was just extraordinary physical play.

Oilers looked cooked down 3-0 in Game Seven, Edmonton cut it to 3-1 then I remember Fleury taking a dumb penalty at that time. Oilers scored on the PP and got back into the game. Probably the key point in the series.

My Best-Carey
Click to expand...

That was a terrible goal Vernon allowed just to make it 3-1. Was basically just a slap shot from the blue line that trickled through his pads. As soon as that puck went in you knew it was trouble and what would start happening
 
CrosbyIsKing87

CrosbyIsKing87

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May 3, 2017
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I remember the surprise of the Oilers sweeping in 88. The Flames won the division and it seemed like it was their year. Then gretzky and Co. come in and humble them. That series taught me the value of experience. The 92 series was amazing. I watched as many games as I could and they were all entertaining. Such a great matchup. If they hadn't beat the crap out of each other so much one of them would have made the final against my Penguins and it would have been glorious. The Oilers were so banged up after the series against Calgary I'm amazed they managed to beat LA. Watching the wires from 83 and 84 is like watching Mad Max in the Thunderdome.
 
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