The last time that Canada's western province of Alberta hosted a Stanley Cup Playoff series between the division rival Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, the year was 1991, and the teams' current star playmakers -- Connor McDavid and Johnny Gaudreau -- weren't even born yet. But, over the next few weeks, a new chapter to the aptly-coined "Battle of Alberta" will be written. And both franchises are well-equipped to reclaim old bragging rights.
Edmonton and Calgary -- which outlasted the NHL's opening round with Game 7 victories -- will take the ice for Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal bout on Wednesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Both teams finished atop the Pacific Division standings this season with 100-plus points, and had a pair of players produce 100-plus points. Calgary also has a Vezina Trophy finalist in goalie Jakob Markstrom, and Edmonton has a Hart Trophy finalist in McDavid.
"The trade of Wayne Gretzky certainly was the start of a significant downturn in Edmonton's fortune. Really, for a while in the non-cap NHL, Edmonton and Calgary just couldn't compete, and weren't serious contenders in the 1990s," Oilers radio voice Jack Michaels explained to After Hours with Amy Lawrence on Tuesday. "Each team made a token run to the Cup Final -- Calgary in 2004 and Edmonton in 2006 -- but, for whatever reason, neither built off of that...
"It's taken a while for McDavid to have a nucleus built around him and enough support to carry the Oilers to this point. It's been a confluence... For so many years, the West was dominated by the likes of Detroit and Dallas. And then, in recent years, it was the California teams... All of the sudden, you're looking at 30 years. Now, both teams are relevant. Both teams are serious contenders."
The entire Oilers-Flames conversation between Michaels and Lawrence can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow After Hours With Amy Lawrence on Twitter @ALawRadio and @AfterHoursCBS, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.