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Edmonton Journal
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
What to know about the Calgary Flames 2025-26 schedule
Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers scrums against Blake Coleman of the Calgary Flames. Getty Images The Calgary Flames will kick off their 2025-26 season with a Battle of Alberta. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Their Christmas festivities will be punctuated by back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oilers, too, with games on December 23 and 27. On Wednesday morning, the NHL released its entire schedule for the upcoming season and it's got all the usual fun and chaos. Here's a few key things to know about what lies ahead as the Flames try to improve on last year's surprising season and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Essential Oilers news, insight, opinion and analysis. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again The Flames are going to spend a lot of time on the road to start the season. Between their season opener in Edmonton on Oct. 8 and when they return home from a gruelling five-game trip that finishes up in Nashville on Dec. 2, the Flames will play 18 of their first 28 games on the road. It's not an easy way to kick off the season. There are back-to-backs in Chicago and Buffalo on Nov. 18 and 19, followed by a return home on Nov. 22 to host the Dallas Stars and then another game the next night in Vancouver against the Canucks. The Flames started strong last year and were able to carry the momentum they gained forward to stay in the playoff race right until the final days of the regular season. The schedule-makers ensured that if they're going to replicate that same early season success, they're going to need to work for it. If the Flames' start is tough, well, the stretch run won't be easy, either. While they finish off the season with a three-game homestand, they've got a six-game trip that immediately precedes it. That trip includes two games in Colorado against the Avalanche, who will also visit the Saddledome on April 14. Yes, to be clear, that means the Flames will face the Avalanche three times in their final nine games. Given that the Avs are perennial contenders, that's a lot of things, but it's definitely not easy. That final stretch could be crucial, though, as it features road games against the Anaheim Ducks (April 4) and Seattle Kraken (April 11) and a home matchup against the Utah Mammoth (April 12), all of whom are expected to be better next year and could be in the playoff hunt. As we noted earlier, the Flames will kick off their season against the Oilers on Oct. 8 in Edmonton and there will be three further matchups between the provincial rivals.


Calgary Herald
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
What to know about the Calgary Flames 2025-26 schedule
Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers scrums against Blake Coleman of the Calgary Flames. Getty Images The Calgary Flames will kick off their 2025-26 season with a Battle of Alberta. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Their Christmas festivities will be punctuated by back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oilers, too, with games on December 23 and 27. On Wednesday morning, the NHL released its entire schedule for the upcoming season and it's got all the usual fun and chaos. Here's a few key things to know about what lies ahead as the Flames try to improve on last year's surprising season and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again The Flames are going to spend a lot of time on the road to start the season. Between their season opener in Edmonton on Oct. 8 and when they return home from a gruelling five-game trip that finishes up in Nashville on Dec. 2, the Flames will play 18 of their first 28 games on the road. It's not an easy way to kick off the season. There are back-to-backs in Chicago and Buffalo on Nov. 18 and 19, followed by a return home on Nov. 22 to host the Dallas Stars and then another game the next night in Vancouver against the Canucks. The Flames started strong last year and were able to carry the momentum they gained forward to stay in the playoff race right until the final days of the regular season. The schedule-makers ensured that if they're going to replicate that same early season success, they're going to need to work for it. If the Flames' start is tough, well, the stretch run won't be easy, either. While they finish off the season with a three-game homestand, they've got a six-game trip that immediately precedes it. That trip includes two games in Colorado against the Avalanche, who will also visit the Saddledome on April 14. Yes, to be clear, that means the Flames will face the Avalanche three times in their final nine games. Given that the Avs are perennial contenders, that's a lot of things, but it's definitely not easy. That final stretch could be crucial, though, as it features road games against the Anaheim Ducks (April 4) and Seattle Kraken (April 11) and a home matchup against the Utah Mammoth (April 12), all of whom are expected to be better next year and could be in the playoff hunt. As we noted earlier, the Flames will kick off their season against the Oilers on Oct. 8 in Edmonton and there will be three further matchups between the provincial rivals.


Calgary Herald
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Calgary Surge fall to Stingers, dropping 2025 CEBL Battle of Alberta series
The always entertaining Battle of Alberta has come to an end for the time being. Article content With a 113-90 victory over the Calgary Surge on Sunday, the Edmonton Stingers not only took the inter-province season series 2-1, but they also extended their league-best win streak to five consecutive games. Article content Article content The host Stingers improved to 9-6 with the win, now just a half-game back of the Calgary crew, which fell to 9-5 and into second place in the West. Article content Article content Leading that charge for the Stingers, as they hit a new season-high in scoring and the largest Target Score mark of any team this season, was Scottie Lindsey with 29 points on 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. Behind him was Sean East II, who chipped in 22 points, six rebounds and 10 assists, and Nick Hornsby, who added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as part of five different Edmonton players to reach double figures in scoring. Article content Article content 'We're in a groove,' Lindsey said after Edmonton extended its win streak. 'We took a tough loss to Montreal, and even since then, we've been locked in, in a different way.' Article content Meanwhile, Calgary native Olumide Adelodun led the way for the Surge as he finished with 25 points on 6-of-10 shooting from distance off the bench. Greg Brown III and Jamarko Pickett each scored 16 and 12 points respectively. Article content 'We allowed their runs to affect us,' Adelodun said post-game. 'We let play after play roll over, and we didn't fight back after that … just too much for us to come back.' Article content The lopsided outcome was a surprise considering both of the previous two Battle of Alberta matchups this season had been decided by a combined five points — the first half of Sunday's contest proving similar. Neither team went ahead by more than 10 points through the first 20 minutes as Calgary led 43-40 at halftime. Article content But then the third quarter happened. Article content Edmonton opened the second half on a 17-0 run en route to a league-record 42 points in the third quarter, one shy of the most points scored in any frame all-time. Calgary's first basket of the second half didn't come until he 6:08 mark of the third, a Sean Miller-Moore triple, to which Edmonton immediately replied with an 11-0 run as it carved out an 82-64 lead ahead of the fourth. Article content 'We had two close games with (Calgary) already this season, so we knew them well,' Lindsey explained. 'We just wanted to come out and protect home court, and we did that in the second half.'


Vancouver Sun
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Edmonton Oilers free-agent signing Andrew Mangiapane looks to fill top-six spot
It used to be that the twain never met in the hated Battle of Alberta, where the motto was Once an Oiler, Always an Oiler and Go Flames Go, but now it's pretty routine that players wear both jerseys at some time in their career. Mike Smith, Derek Ryan, Brett Kulak, of recent vintage. And now we bring you Andrew Mangiapane , who may have been Mathew Tkachuk Lite in OilerNation when it came to pests you disliked in his six full seasons with Calgary, but now he's bringing those traits to Edmonton after the 29-year-old winger signed his two-year free-agent deal for a $3.6 million AAV. 'He's not the most fun guy to play against,' said Oiler GM Stan Bowman. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. All good, but that's not just why the Oilers, used most of the Viktor Arvidsson $4 million AAV they moved on to Boston to bring in Mangiapane, whom they figure (also hope) is a better fit in the top six, specifically with Leon Draisaitl, than Arvidsson was in his one season here after signing his UFA deal last July. 'Starting offensively, he's got the ability to play in our top 6 and has experience playing left and right-wing, so there's flexibility there, whether he's going to play with (Connor) McDavid or Draisaitl. We can try him on both lines,' said Bowman. Of course, they said the same about Arvidsson (flexibility) when he signed a year ago, if we want to play devil's advocate, and it just didn't work. But Mangiapane is younger and harder to play against (sandpaper). 'We don't know which centre Andrew will mesh the best with, but we know it'll be one of those two. We definitely see him on our top two lines, and we know he can play on the powerplay (second unit most likely),' said Bowman. 'He checks a lot of boxes with our group,' said Bowman, well aware Draisaitl had Vasily Podkolzin on LW for much of the season, and a revolving set of right-wingers. Podkolzin, who did yeoman grunt work digging pucks out along the boards to keep plays going, could move back in the lineup, and maybe Trent Frederic gets a look on RW, if he's not tried as 3C, with Adam Henrique a swing guy at C and wing. 'I expect the sixth top-six forward to come from internally. We had Podkolzin there and Kasperi Kapanen (RW) for stretches, and I expect (farmhand) Matt Savoie to be on the team and play a role. We've also got (Czech-born) David Tomasek (Swedish Hockey League scoring champion) coming in. I wouldn't expect to add (signing) another top-six player,' said Bowman. Mangiapane, who was part of Alex Ovechkin's goal chase last season with the Washington Capitals, but slotted in a bottom six role there, is all for the idea of playing with 29, or maybe 97, although Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (LW) and Zach Hyman (RW) seem to have those winger spots locked up, for now. 'It'll be fun to participate in the Battle of Alberta again, obviously,' said the 5-foot-10, 183-pound Mangiapane, who never shied away from confrontation in his games against the Oilers, even at his size. He's a greasy player, and we say that in a good way. 'Edmonton's got a really good team, obviously…you want to come in and help get them over the finish line (Stanley Cup after two straight finals).' Mangiapane, always a confident player, isn't shying away from playing with Draisaitl, the Hart trophy runner-up to Connor Hellebuyck, or maybe McDavid. Somewhere in the top six. 'Yes, I can definitely see that. Last year was a down year for me but I think I can get right back to what I can do,' said Mangiapane, who had 14 goals and 28 points with Capitals but once had a 35-goal-season with Flames in 2021-22, which looks to maybe be an outlier but conservatively he's a 20-20 (40-point player here. And quite possibly a 25-goal, 60-point player with Draisaitl, if they click. 'I think the fans here, watching me in Calgary, know what I'm capable of. Looking at this roster, there's a lot of good players here…I can move up and down (line up). But I think there will be good fits no matter where the coach (Kris Knoblauch) puts me,' he said. His strength is getting in on defencemen, working the boards, keeping plays alive, much like Kailer Yamamoto did here with Draisaitl, but a bigger body. 'He can play a give-and-go game…he's an active player, a competitive player,' said Bowman. 'With Andrew, you notice his ability to impact the game in a number of different ways, and he can kill penalties.' No argument from Mangiapane. 'My game has always been a tenacious one, trying to get in there and start things… hit guys on the fore-check, be in some scrums. Be involved that way. Over the years, I've tried to play on that line, aggravating guys, annoying players. That's what makes me successful,' he admitted. He should see some special teams play, for sure. On the second power play because Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman have reservations on the top one with 97 and 29 and Evan Bouchard on the point. But, with Connor Brown signing in New Jersey, he could take up some of his PK minutes. 'Hopefully, I'll get an opportunity to be used in all situations,' said Mangiapane. Playing with Draisaitl or McDavid is daunting for most guys. But Mangiapane is ready for it, with chemistry hopefully building. 'It's not easy (with these two phenomenal players), but you just try to play your game, and I'm sure they (coaches) want that as well. They (Draisaitl and McDavid) want the puck as much as I do. When the play's there, you make the pass, or when the shot's there, you shoot the puck. You can't over-complicate it,' he said. Mangiapane knows what hockey's like in Canada, and especially here in Edmonton with McDavid and Draisaitl, getting to the finals twice and falling just short in the losses to Florida. But he's embracing the opportunity. 'It's an exciting time to be an Oiler, playing in that Canadian market,' he said. 'That comes with pressure from the fans, and I don't think you can block that out, if I'm being honest. I'm a guy who watches TV, lots of hockey. I'm on all the apps,' he said. He also loved all the hype around Ovechkin overtaking Wayne Gretzky to become the greatest scorer of them all, loved the ringside seat. 'A really cool season, so surreal,' he said. 'I was a little shy, nervous, going there, meeting him…he's been around for so long, breaking all these records. But me being part of his chase, on a really good team, was a cool experience. Every time the team was on the road felt like a home game, everybody was chanting his name,' said Mangiapane. Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.


Edmonton Journal
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Oilers free-agent signing Andrew Mangiapane looks to fill top-six spot
It used to be that the twain never met in the hated Battle of Alberta, where the motto was Once an Oiler, Always an Oiler and Go Flames Go, but now it's pretty routine that players wear both jerseys at some time in their career. Article content Mike Smith, Derek Ryan, Brett Kulak, of recent vintage. Article content And now we bring you Andrew Mangiapane, who may have been Mathew Tkachuk Lite in OilerNation when it came to pests you disliked in his six full seasons with Calgary, but now he's bringing those traits to Edmonton after the 29-year-old winger signed his two-year free-agent deal for a $3.6 million AAV. Article content Article content All good, but that's not just why the Oilers, used most of the Viktor Arvidsson $4 million AAV they moved on to Boston to bring in Mangiapane, whom they figure (also hope) is a better fit in the top six, specifically with Leon Draisaitl, than Arvidsson was in his one season here after signing his UFA deal last July. Article content Mangiapane 'checks a lot of boxes': Bowman Article content 'Starting offensively, he's got the ability to play in our top 6 and has experience playing left and right-wing, so there's flexibility there, whether he's going to play with (Connor) McDavid or Draisaitl. We can try him on both lines,' said Bowman. Article content Article content Article content Of course, they said the same about Arvidsson (flexibility) when he signed a year ago, if we want to play devil's advocate, and it just didn't work. But Mangiapane is younger and harder to play against (sandpaper). Article content Article content 'We don't know which centre Andrew will mesh the best with, but we know it'll be one of those two. We definitely see him on our top two lines, and we know he can play on the powerplay (second unit most likely),' said Bowman. Article content 'He checks a lot of boxes with our group,' said Bowman, well aware Draisaitl had Vasily Podkolzin on LW for much of the season, and a revolving set of right-wingers. Article content Podkolzin, who did yeoman grunt work digging pucks out along the boards to keep plays going, could move back in the lineup, and maybe Trent Frederic gets a look on RW, if he's not tried as 3C, with Adam Henrique a swing guy at C and wing. Article content 'I expect the sixth top-six forward to come from internally. We had Podkolzin there and Kasperi Kapanen (RW) for stretches, and I expect (farmhand) Matt Savoie to be on the team and play a role. We've also got (Czech-born) David Tomasek (Swedish Hockey League scoring champion) coming in. I wouldn't expect to add (signing) another top-six player,' said Bowman.