(Sports Network) - The saying third time's a charm won't be taken lightly for the Edmonton Oilers, who hope to solve the Calgary Flames tonight in the third meeting this season between the Northwest Division rivals at the Saddledome.
The Oilers dropped a 4-3 decision to the Flames in the season opener on October 3 at Rexall Place, then suffered a 4-3 shootout loss in the second matchup as the host five days later. Calgary has won three straight and five of the last six contests in this series. These two teams have split the last six encounters in The Stampede City.
Edmonton enters this showdown riding a three-game winning streak and recorded a 6-4 victory versus Columbus on Thursday in the finale of a three-game homestand. Dustin Penner had two goals and three assists, Ales Hemsky added a goal and four assists, and both Sam Gagner and Lubomir Visnovsky finished with a goal and two helpers for the Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin registered 28 saves in the win, Edmonton's fifth in six games.
"I think there's a difference in this locker room, we just believe we can come back no matter what," said Penner. "We're scoring timely goals, and we're feeding off the crowd and the momentum in the building."
The last time two Edmonton players registered five points in one game was November 19, 1988, when Glenn Anderson and Jimmy Carson tallied five points each in Toronto.
Edmonton center Gilbert Brule is questionable for Saturday's game because of flu-like symptoms.
Calgary is on a winning streak of its own, having won two straight to open a season-high five-game homestand after dropping its previous three contests. The Flames handed the Columbus Blue Jackets a 6-3 defeat on Tuesday, as team captain Jarome Iginla posted a goal and two assists for his first multi-point performance of the season.
Daymond Langkow, Jay Bouwmeester, Curtis Glencross and Dion Phaneuf also found the back of the net for the Flames, who got 27 saves out of goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.
"We created some offense off our 5-on-5 tonight," said Flames coach Brent Sutter. "We directed a lot of pucks at the net. We were able to make some plays in tight where we had guys going to the net, some high traffic goals."
The Flames, who are 4-1-0 at home, will also host Colorado and Detroit on the current residency. Calgary defenseman David Moss is questionable for Saturday's game with an upper-body ailment.