EDMONTON — Whatever happens from here, let it happen. For one night, Edmontonians deserved to walk out of their brand new building with a smile and some measure of belief, however tenuous.
The Calgary Flames can have the rematch on Friday night at the Saddledome, the same way they unceremoniously clobbered the Oilers in the final Battle of Alberta game played at Rexall Place last April. But for all that had preceded this first ever regular season NHL game at Rogers Place, this was one game that devoted Oil Fans deserved.
“They deserve a team that’s going to play hard every night,” said big winger Milan Lucic, who had spent a career in Boston and Los Angeles, rolling through Edmonton and taking home two points like candy from a baby. “They deserve a team that comes to the rink expecting to win, night in night out. That’s something they haven’t had here for a while.”
It was sloppy at times, this opener, with goaltending from either side that won’t make anybody’s resume. But when it was done, the Oilers were 7-4 winners, Connor McDavid (two goals and an assist) was the first star, and the locals could leave the rink with their jersey on their back — not tossed out on the ice as so many have been here over the years.
In a damned good hockey town that’s been kicked in the teeth for most of a decade now, this new team inside this new rink simply had to give them a new result.
“I’m sure they want — and I know that deserve — to be proud of their team,” Lucic said, in a heartfelt soliloquy that had a little bit of Phil Esposito to it. “It’s a team with a lot of history, that’s had some of the greatest players of all time. We’re not always going to win, but we’re going to give ourselves the best chance to win, night in, night out.
“And we know they’re going to have our backs, if we just put the effort in.”
This one started with Brian Elliott allowing his first two shots against as a Flame to get past.
“It’s on me. I gotta make a couple of saves there,” he admitted post game.
It featured consecutive Calgary shorthanded goals against an Oilers powerplay that was lousy. But in his first night as an NHL captain, with all the requisite ghosts of great Oilers past alive and looking down from the pews, McDavid rose to the occasion.
He was the best player on the ice, a habit he has formed in games with a little extra flavour, as this one had.
“You need that type of night from your captain,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan, “especially when you’re putting up a new building where there is some excitement and a little bit of jitters. For a 19-year-old to settle you down like that is remarkable. Credit to him and the followers for following him.”
This was the first night for Rogers Place, but it is so much more than that for Edmonton. The arena debate had lagged on for years before this palace was built, exhausting fans and dividing a city between those who believed in owner Daryl Katz’s vision for a fresh, new downtown, and those who couldn’t fathom putting tax dollars into an arena for a billionaire owner and his millionaire players.
Wayne Gretzky announced on Wednesday afternoon that he would come to work for the Oilers, whatever it is a Partner and Vice Chairman of the Oilers Entertainment Group actually does. But he’ll be here and watching more often, which means a lot in this town.
In a pre-game ceremony, the writers absolutely knocked fans over the head with the fact that Gretzky and Mark Messier were passing the torch to McDavid, who came out alone and closed the ceremony by scoring into an empty net as his teammates streamed out on to the ice.
If it is indeed McDavid’s team now, well, a three-point night isn’t a bad place to start.
“The anticipation for this game was huge and the fans were excited and all the greats were in the building,” McDavid said. “It was an exciting night for our whole organization and it was a good way to start it. I’m kind of happy it’s over. I’ll definitely take a lot of good memories from tonight and move on with those.”
So will the folks here in YEG, 18,347 of whom filled this beauteous rink on a night they’ll not soon forget.
A win. In Edmonton.
Imagine that?
