WATCH： WS writers Lee Harding and Arthur Green bring the battle of Alberta in the newsroom...
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Summary
The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers are all tied up in the Western Conference Finals and the series is tied up at two games a piece. The Flames lead the series 3-2, but the Oilers are desperate to get back into the series and take control of the series. We talk about the Flames and Oilers chances to win it all and look ahead to the series decider.
Transcript
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of Alberta for the first time in over 30 years. Like, boy, you know, you would think this would
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have happened more often. So, I mean, whatever happens, this is going to be a hell of a couple
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of weeks here going on. So, thanks for coming in and showing your allegiances, guys.
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Like Bob Marley said, Corey, it's time to stir the pot and, you know, you see CBC offering
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trauma support. I think Oilers fans are going to need some trauma support after Calgary runs
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them over in this series. You know, I predicted five games, such as Dave. Dave also predicted
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it in five, but we even got Wayne Gretzky's support. Gretzky took to Twitter and saying
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that Calgary is his pick. Ryan, I know you'll bleed orange after the series. What are your
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thoughts on Mike Smith? And do you think he can hold the crease?
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So, go ahead there, Lee. I know he's jumped in on you there and you're at a disadvantage
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already with that Northern team there, but make your crease.
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No, not at all. No, we're on a permanent power play. We're going to keep winning like we always
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did. I don't even know if Arthur was alive the last time these two teams played, but just
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a reminder, 1991, the flames were up three to nothing and then Mike Vernon pulled his
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best sieve ever. I mean, Esa Tikanen took a shot from the blue line, went right through
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his legs and then it just went all downhill from there. So, Mike Smith's going to be awesome.
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He's going to take all the shots that Calgary can throw at him and yawn in between them.
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It's going to be amazing. It really is. It's going to be a spectacle to behold and I can't
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wait to see this. It's fantastic. All the fans are going to love it. The enthusiasm is going
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to be out of this world and it's really too bad that there's going to be a close encounter
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of the Euler kind that's just coming in. Yes, they spotted it now. So, Arthur, I don't know.
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I don't know what the counseling's like over there on the rock, but you might need some.
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Well, it sounds like, you know, we've got somebody who's kind of living in the past
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though. I mean, you're bringing up some really old names. As you said, Arthur might not even
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be around. So, we've got some assets with that Flames team this year. Why do you, actually
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Lee though, you didn't get your prediction. How many games do you think this is going to
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take whichever way it may go? I think it's going to be a game seven and boy, are Calgary
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going to be disappointed when they lose at that point. It's going to be so devastating, quite
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satisfying for me, but devastating for them. It'll be 1991 all over again. What's old will
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Okay. Well, let's bring Arthur in to give the thoughts. So, what assets do you think the
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Flames have in their arsenal to avoid having 1991 all over again?
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For the record, I was alive in 1991. I'm almost 40 years old, but I think the biggest asset
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that they have is the Calgary fans. And Edmonton fans are great fans, but they don't have the
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red blood that the Calgary Flames thrive on. And they've got a great lineup. They've got Johnny
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hockey, Keith Kachuk. You know, we even see Brady Kachuk in the stands cheering for his
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older brother. And I got Alf here behind me. He's going to challenge Brady to be the biggest
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Calgary Flames super fan. But, you know, I think the series is going to be a tough one.
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We're going to see Marion Luchich. And, you know, I think he's going to drop the gloves
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with Zach Cassie. And if he doesn't do it, we could chalk first. So, we'll see what happens.
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Oh, man. Zach Cassie will beat him. There'll be a coffee in one hand and a naked fist in
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the other. There'll be fists of fury. Bruce Lee will be cheering from somewhere in the
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I imagine it is going to be a pretty physical series. I mean, if we looked at the Dallas one
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as a history of it, at least, you know, they seem to kind of get it together towards the
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end because they had to realize that, you know, we have to score goals rather than beat
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on these guys to win this. But there's probably going to be some fireworks before the end of
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this Calgary Edmonton get together. Oh, definitely. Definitely. I mean, the first game, it's going
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to be there. By the seventh game, I don't know. I mean, I just saw an article where they're
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calling up like about six different Oilers to be on the team that are, you know, the spare
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tires. So, I think they're ready. Boy, if there's ejections or whatever, we'll just call
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upon the endless depth that this team has because, you know, that's what an oil rig has.
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You can just keep digging deeper and deeper and deeper. There's always more there. Whereas,
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you know, as shown by the little mascot over there in Newfoundland, Alfie, you know, he
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looks like a pirate. So, the Flames have to steal a win. They can't really earn it.
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Alfie's actually here in Alberta. We're located in northern Alberta in Bonneville. But, you know,
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Ryan, I think Calgary is going to win because Markstrom is going to steal the series. You
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know, he has the agility. Mike Smith's washed up. Your Oilers fans can cry right now. But
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we got the experience, too, of Daryl Sutter. And Sutter has a plan for Edmonton. He's going
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to roll the four lines. And I don't think that Edmonton has the patience to beat Calgary.
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So, both of you guys, I'll start. You know, I mean, I see Lee was a little presumptuous there
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with the perhaps guessing by Arthur might have a bit of an accent. But all the same, we're going
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to get that trauma counseling for the Western Standard staff soon, as I was saying before the
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show started. But you're up at Bonneville. That's kind of a divided area. I mean, you're going to have
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a lot of Edmonton plans up there when you go to the bar to watch these games. But I imagine there'd be a
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number of Flames fans going, too. I've tipped back one or two in Bonneville bars in past
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times when I was in the oil field. They can get pretty rowdy. I imagine there's going to be some
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lively sports nights going on up there. Yeah, they got the, I'll give a shout out to the
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Players Lounge. You want to go watch hockey, Players Lounge is the place to do it in Bonneville.
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There will also be a few Newfoundlanders there, I'm sure of it. But, you know, it's a great
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hockey town that we have here. It is divided. I mean, Alberta is already divided enough,
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but it's just about to get a little bit more separated with the Flames and the Oilers and
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the Battle of Alberta, which I can't wait for. Well, no, I'll toss a bow to Lee because he's
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out in Saskatchewan. But they do have, and I know some Calgarians are going to get mad at me for it,
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but they got the best football fans in Canada out there. But it's also a province that hasn't had
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an NHL team. So if they're going to pick their winners and losers, they got to look to Alberta
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or elsewhere, especially now that this is the last of the Canadian teams. Are there going to be some
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divided sports bars and some lively nights out there where you're at, Lee?
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I think there will be, you know, out here in Saskatchewan, we pick our teams and the Flames fans
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pick their nose. Really sorry to be assuming over there where you were. I forgot the old acronym
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for Sim Crude so you Newfoundlanders can receive unemployment down east. But it's going to be really,
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really great. I can't wait to relish this victory and brag for it for maybe another 30 years. And,
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you know, I mean, there have to be some deluded people in this world. We know them. They vote for
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the wrong political party. They have all kinds of things that we're just not quite sure what's going
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on up here. And, well, that's fine. You know, it gives you something to gloat over when your team
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Jeez, I guess we're going to have to watch it if we get you guys into the newsroom at the same time.
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You know, I got a thick skin like a like a catfish, Corey. And his his down and in the flames don't
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bother me because in in five games, we're going to be celebrating on the red mile at the Saddle
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Dome in Calgary. And Ryan, you know, you can just go back to watching football. Oh, he got the
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Gretzky dog. Yeah, just go back to watching football, Ryan, because the flames are going
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Well, we'll see that there's quite some, you know, a good split going on here. Once we have
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game one under the belt, we might have a better idea. But before we close things out, boy, I mean,
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I see Lee is invested in a lot of talismans and things he think will help him along from the coffee
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mugs to the dolls. But, you know, it's going to take more than that, I think, to pull this off.
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But in closing, give a couple minutes as to why, Lee, you feel that the Oilers are going
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Well, you know, they usually do. I mean, even in 86, we felt so bad for you. We just had
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to score the goal on ourselves. And then 14 years later, give you Steve Smith and Grant
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Fuhrer as our very belated sloppy seconds. We've always been the better team. It's been
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very frustrating for Calgary. They have a lot of envy over this. It's really too bad. You know,
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there's lots of wonderful things to love about Calgary, just not their own team when it comes
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to a confrontation with Edmonton. So no, this isn't a talisman. This is a nice little
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mug here that will be full of flames, tears. And I don't know, maybe a flames tear would kind
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of sizzle, but it doesn't matter. It's going to be real salty and nice, kind of like the
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Well, I don't know. Flames often burn oil, but is there a case we'll let Arthur close
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My case for the flames, Corey, is they got sheer determination and grit. You know, they
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had the best record in 82 games this season. And I think they're going to prevail versus
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the Oilers. You know, he can have his cup and all his fancy memorabilia, but Ryan, money
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doesn't buy happiness and it's not going to buy an Oilers a win. So, you know, in five
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games, like I said, we'll have this conversation again and you can tell me I'm right.
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That's great. But I mean, you know, all in all, it's going to be a hell of a series.
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Everybody's looking forward to it. It's going to be really fun to watch this go. I kind
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of, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm rooting for the flames. I got to admit, but all the same, I hope it
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goes to game seven as the other prediction was just to, to make the most out of this
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battle and, uh, uh, you know, such a, a great, uh, matchup going on. So I thank you both
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for coming on to, well, for writing to the standard to give your points of view. I'm sure
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that one of you is going to be writing, uh, or probably just kind of ducking and keeping
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a little profile after the series. And, uh, one of you might chirp up a couple of times
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Well, uh, we know what time's going to tell, but it's just fun to watch it all play
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out. And, uh, you know, I'm not going to be a, a, a sore winner later. I'm going to
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be gracious to you. I'm just going to say, you know what, we've, we've got some great
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consolation prizes for you. Maybe a nice set of golf clubs and this sort of thing.
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And, uh, you know, there's always next year, right?
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Uh, the, the proof is in the pudding, Corey. And, uh, like I said, uh, Mike Smith's not
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going to stop 60 shots a game. So, uh, we'll see what happens.