Intense rivalries often bring out the best in athletes.

CALGARY Los Angeles Kings Hoodies Authentic , Alberta —That’s what fans will be hoping for when the Calgary Flames (10-8-1) host the first installment of the Battle of Alberta against the Edmonton Oilers (9-8-1) at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday night.“Obviously it’s exciting playing against those guys,” said Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau. “It’s a good tradition playing against those guys. They get excited for those games and so do we. It’s going to be a lot of fun and we’re really looking forward to it.”Article continues below ...Gaudreau will be looking to snap out of a personal four-game scoreless streak, while also helping the Flames rebound from their second straight setback, a 3-2 loss to the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.“I think our line has had a lot of good chances here in the past two, three games, and they’re just not dropping in right now for us,” said Gaudreau, who is tied with linemates Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm at 19 points for second in scoring on the Flames (behind Matthew Tkachuk’s 21 points). “We’ve got to roll with the punches here and they’ll start coming.”While the Flames lost to Montreal on Thursday, the Oilers skated to a convincing 6-2 win over the Canadiens two nights earlier in Edmonton.Now, after a short rest and a couple days of practice, the Oilers are ready for their first game against a Pacific Division foe this season.“The Battle of Alberta definitely gets you wound up and gets you going,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan. “Any time you play a rival — it doesn’t matter if it’s Alberta or in Ontario or in another league or another sport — the fans get excited about it and the players get excited about it. Both teams are improving and pushing for a playoff spot.“I know it’s very early in the year Los Angeles Kings Hats Authentic , but these games become vitally important as they add up throughout the season. Our group will be excited about going there.”Since the Oilers also play at home on Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights (8-10-1), McLellan has opted to start backup goalie Mikko Koskinen against the Flames before bouncing right back with netminder Cam Talbot the next night.“Two games, we’re at home and we’re on the road,” McLellan said. “One team went to the Stanley Cup Finals last year and the other team is a rival. We just decided that we would play Mikko on the road to experience the rivalry and Talbs at home in the back-to-back.”Although Flames bench boss Bill Peters announced on Friday that goaltender David Rittich will get the start against the Oilers, he added that he won’t be afraid to go back to Mike Smith, who let in the game-winning goal through his legs in the third period on Thursday to Montreal forward Artturi Lehkonen.“We’re going to keep putting him in there when the time is right and away you go,” said Peters of Smith. “He’ll get another chance and when you get the chance, seize the opportunity.”Rittich made 21 saves for his first NHL shutout against the Kings in Los Angeles in his last start last Saturday.“I feel good, but it’s another game and you have to be prepared for it,” said Rittich, who has a 5-1-0 record to go with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. “What happened last game, it happened. Everyone in our locker room has to be prepared for another game. It’s going to be a great atmosphere here and we want to win.”In a one-for-one deal that was announced on Friday Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys , the Oilers acquired Ryan Spooner from the New York Rangers in exchange for fellow forward Ryan Strome. DENVER (AP) — For a brief moment, the Minnesota Wild lost track of the super speedy Nathan MacKinnon.That’s all it took. MacKinnon had a tap-in goal off a nifty pass from Mikko Rantanen to give Colorado the lead, Semyon Varlamov stopped 20 shots and the Avalanche beat the Wild 4-1 on Thursday night in the opener for both teams.“His vision is awesome,” MacKinnon said of his linemate. “I just drove the net and Mikko made a great play.”Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk didn’t have much of a chance on MacKinnon’s second-period goal that gave Colorado a 2-1 advantage. Rantanen skated down the left side and sent a pass through a sea of sticks to MacKinnon, who tapped it in before Dubnyk had a chance to fully turn his head.“He was in a good place and he made a good play,” Dubnky said.Wild coach Bruce Boudreau offered another explanation.“It’s MacKinnon. He’s going to get a lot of goals like that,” Boudreau said.MacKinnon picked up right where he left off from last season, when he tallied 39 goals and 58 assists on his way to finishing second in the Hart Trophy vote. He led the team in shots Thursday with eight. Carl Soderberg scored, while Rantanen and J.T. Compher added empty-net goals for the Avalanche, who moved to 15-5-3 in home openers since moving to town from Quebec.Varlamov returned to net after missing the playoffs last season with a knee injury he suffered late in the regular season. He made his eighth opening-night start in a burgundy-and-blue sweater, surpassing Patrick Roy for the most by an Avalanche goaltender. This also was Varlamov’s 400th career NHL game.“He’s grown so much as a goalie,” MacKinnon said. “His mindset is he can play a low-shot game and stay sharp www.officialwild.com , and he was great.”Colorado thought it had a two-goal lead when Colin Wilson scored 1:36 into the third after knocking in a puck out of the air. The goal was reviewed and disallowed after it was determined Wilson’s left glove batted the puck in.No matter, Varlamov protected things with save after save. None bigger than stopping an Eric Staal wrist shot with his right shoulder on a 2-on-1 with just under 5 minutes remaining.Rantanen added an empty-net goal with 1:53 remaining and Compher another in the waning seconds to seal the victory.Colorado outshot the Wild 40-21. Zach Parise gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead on a backhand pass from Mikko Koivu early in the first period. Parise missed the opening 39 games a season ago due to a back ailment that required surgery. After steadily working his way back into form, Parise suffered a broken sternum in the playoffs.Minnesota is coming off a season in which it posted 101 points before losing to Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs.“There was some sloppiness that’s not going to be seen in game 20,” Boudreau said. “Pucks bouncing over the sticks and over-skating the puck and things of that nature. … I think they did know how quick the pace was going to be, faster than the preseason, but took us a while to get up to it.”As for the Avalanche, general manager Joe Sakic has modest goals this season after his team returned to the postseason for the first time since 2013-14. Their average age this season is 26.3. They ended last season at 25.8.“Our goal is to make the playoffs, but the most important thing for us is to see the growth of this group,” Sakic said. “We’re excited to see who makes that next jump.”NOTES: Wild F Marcus Foligno was tripped by D Tyson Barrie late in the second period. Foligno went to the bench favoring his left leg but returned a few minutes later. … F Vladislav Kamenev (lower body) and D Anton Lindholm (upper body) were taken off injured reserve and reassigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. … Avs F Sheldon Dries made his NHL debut. He had two shots. … Soderberg also had an assist.UP NEXT:Minnesota: Starts a three-game homestand Saturday against Las Vegas.Colorado: Hosts Philadelphia on Saturday.