Suddenly, the Battle of Alberta isn't a one-sided affair anymore.
CALGARY - They still called it the Battle of Alberta, but over the past few seasons - when the result was all but a foregone conclusion - it was hard to work up a lather for a match-up so tilted.
Suddenly, there is legitimate doubt over where the two points are going to land when North meets here at the foot of the Rockies. Even more doubt, as Tuesday's game displayed, over which team will dictate the style of game they're playing this season in Alberta.
For two periods, Calgary Flames were a team at the top of their game, steeped in structure and hard-nosed defensive play. Add on a scoring streak that has deposited 14 goals in its past three games, and the Flames were unbeatable.
But then the game turned.
"Hey, they were skating well," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said of the Edmonton Oilers. "All of the sudden, they're getting odd-man rushes against us."
The Oilers, a club still trying to find an effective balance between run-and-gun, and playing a system so loose that the only thing it churns out are Grade A chances for the other team, got a hold of the pace in the third period and wouldn't let go.
When the Oilers gave pucks away early on, Calgary pounced. When Edmonton forced the game out into the wide-open in the final 20 minutes, Calgary didn't look very comfortable.
In the end, Calgary won in a shootout, 5-4. The winners fought not to take negatives out of the victory, while the losers - once again - searched for positives out of a loss.
"Certainly wasn't pretty. That's for sure," said Calgary's Alex Tanguay, whose shootout goal settled a wildly entertaining affair. "But sometimes you have to win ugly games too. That one was an ugly third period."
Over in Edmonton's room, defenceman Ryan Whitney was the poster boy for an Oilers team that was at times as good as it was bad.
Whitney had two assists, while coughing the puck up for two goals.
"We're so Jekyll and Hyde-ish," Whitney complained, taking off the lab coat that was his game uniform. "We can play the way we played in the third period for an entire game. It's just a matter of doing it. Being consistent.
"Hey, I'm at fault for two goals. But wow, what a comeback."
Alas, consistency is a far more attainable goal in the near future for the red team, whereas the blue one is still a work in progress. But that's what has made all three meetings between these two Alberta clubs fantastic nights to find yourself inside a hockey arena.
Edmonton won 4-0 on opening night at Rexall, a game where the momentum see-sawed back and forth until the Oilers turned it into river hockey and won going away. Calgary won 5-3 on a Saturday night at the Saddledome, and did it again in extra time Tuesday, after blowing a 4-1 second period lead.
"Give Edmonton full marks, they kept comin'," said Calgary coach Brent Sutter. "Let it be a good lesson for us. It's a 4-1 game, you give up a bad goal with (17) seconds left in the (second) period.
"I thought we let that bother us to some degree. Got off of what we do. In the last eight minutes, we seemed to gain that back, and settled down a bit."
Both teams saw the good, the bad and the gruesome in their own lineups.
Like 5-foot-9 Sam Gagner, giving up six inches and 25 pounds to Olli Jokinen, and whipping him in a scrap right off of a draw at centre ice. Or Brendan Morrison, a guy who would be God-knows-where if centres Daymond Langkow, Matt Stajan and David Moss hadn't forced his acquisition at a time of need. He was one of the finest Flames Tuesday night, with two goals and a team-high nine points.
One more sign of the times? Calgary has won five of six, while Edmonton stomachs its fifth straight loss.
If every game is this terrific, it's hard to believe the standings will matter much when the Battle of Alberta next resumes.
Mark Spector is the lead columnist for Sportsnet.ca
