Three Western Canadian rivals all with wildly varying degrees of success over the years. The Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks are natural rivals across Alberta and British Columbia, often finding themselves in heated battles. Of course, we have the Battle of Alberta as the more prominent of the matchups in this trifecta. But tensions have been rising between the Oilers and Canucks in recent years, with a current peak in the 2024 playoffs as the Oilers defeated the Canucks in seven games in the second round. And the Flames and Canucks had plenty of fanfare in the mid 2010s, most notably the infamous opening faceoff line brawl and battle between then-coaches John Tortorella and Bob Hartley.
So far in this century, there has not been much in the way of playoff battles between these teams, which has taken its toll on these rivalries with no team really playing meaningful games against each other. In fact, the only time in the last 33 years that all three teams played in the post-season in the same season was the 2020 bubble playoffs that the Oilers, Flames, and Canucks all made the play-in round. The last time all three teams played in the same post-season was in 1991.
These rivalries were not helped by wildly different competitive windows over these years, where it was rare for more than one of these three teams to be good at the same time. And often, all three were mediocre at best.
Nevertheless, we’ve seen over the past five seasons how much even a single playoff series can do for heating up these rivalries and letting them thrive. Although it is unlikely all three make the playoffs this season, the Flames and Canucks are in a battle for the second wild card spot. In the spirit of this impending battle over the next month, lets take a look at the history of the Oilers, Flames, and Canucks playoff rivalry.
Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames playoff history
The Oilers and Flames entered the league one season apart from each other, with the Oilers debuting in 1979 and the Flames in 1980. Since then, the two teams have faced off six times in the playoffs, most recently in 2021–22. The Oilers have a massive advantage, winning five of the six series’.
1983 division final, Oilers defeat Flames 4–1
The first series matchup between these two teams was in the 1983 division finals. Edmonton won in five games, setting the record for the most goals scored in a five-game series with 35. A record that still stands to this day. Edmonton won game three by a score of 10–2 and the fifth game, the series winner, 9–1. Not an overly competitive series, and set the trend early of the Oilers traditionally dominating the Flames in the playoffs.
1984 division final, Oilers defeat Flames 4–3
The very next year, the Oilers and Flames faced off once again. This time it was significantly more competitive. Going the distance this time, the Oilers just snuck by the Flames in seven games. Games 2 and 6 both went to overtime, and both Calgary victories, as the Flames almost came back from a 3–1 series deficit before losing in Game 7. The Oilers would go on to win their first Stanley Cup in these playoffs.
1986 division final, Flames defeat Oilers 4–3
To this day, the 1986 division finas remain the only time the Flames have defeated the Oilers in a playoff series. And it came at the hands of one of the most iconic moments in Battle of Alberta history. The teams swapped wins the entirety of the seven-game series, no team won two in a row. Leading to a winner takes all Game 7.
Five minutes into the third period of a tie game, rookie defender Steve Smith, from behind the net, tried sending the puck up the ice. However, it caught the leg of goaltender Grant Fuhr and went into the Oilers net. That was the final goal scored in the game, as the Flames took the series and prevented the dynasty era Oilers from winning their third straight Stanley Cup.
1988 division final, Oilers defeat Flames 4–0
In an apparent act of revenge for what happened two seasons prior, the Oilers swept the Flames in the fourth playoff series between these two teams, leaving no doubt which team was better over these years. The Flames went into this series as the favourites, having won the division title and broken the Oilers six-year streak of claiming the Smythe Division. But the Oilers quickly sent Calgary packing with a dominant four-game victory.
1991 division semifinal, Oilers defeat Flames 4–3
This was the first time Edmonton and Calgary faced off in a series other than the division finals, as the Oilers and Flames battled in the first round of the 1991 playoffs. Another seven-game series, another victory for the Oilers in the first matchup in the post-Wayne Gretzky era. The Flames, once again, were heavy favourites, finishing the regular season 20 points above the Oilers in the standings.
Once again, the Flames almost came back from a 3–1 series deficit with a Game 6 overtime victory. But Esa Tikkanen scored the overtime winner in Game 7 to close out the series.
This was the last time we got a Battle of Alberta in the playoffs for 30 years.
2022 divison final, Oilers defeat Flames 4–1
This much anticipated Battle of Alberta left some fans (mostly Oilers fans) quite happy. Tensions had been rising between the Oilers and Flames in the Zack Kassian/Matthew Tkachuk era, with countless heated games, fights, brawls, and media shenanigans fueling the bitter hatred between players and fans of each side.
Getting this matchup during this era was a dream come true. And it did not leave anyone disappointed. The first game was one of the most action-packed and exciting Battle of Alberta games ever, with the Flames winning 9–6 after giving up a 6–2 lead.
That was the only game the Flames won, as the Oilers swept the rest of the way out, capped off by a Connor McDavid overtime winner in Game 5.
This series was one of the highest moments of Leon Draisaitl and McDavid’s playoff careers, as Draisaitl had 15 assists and 17 points in five games, while McDavid had nine assists and 12 points. Zach Hyman and Evander Kane led the way with goal scoring, potting six and five respectively.
Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks playoff history
So far, the Oilers and Canucks have played in three playoff series against each other. The Oilers have won all three times. There was an over 30-year gap between entries in this rivalry until last season’s rebirth of the Oilers and Canucks playoff rivalry.
1986 division semifinal, Oilers defeat Canucks 3–0
The first ever playoff series between these two teams came in the Oilers’ seventh in the NHL. And it wasn’t even close. The Oilers swept the Canucks in the then-five-game opening round of the 1986 playoffs. The Oilers outscored the Canucks 17–5. Edmonton scored five goals in their lowest scoring of the series, while the Canucks scored three in their highest scoring game. The Canucks did not put up much of a fight this time around.
This is the only season the Oilers would face both the Canucks and Flames in the same playoff year, as they would go on to lose to Calgary in the second round.
1992 division final, Oilers defeat Canucks 4–2
A much more competitive series in the post-Gretzky era has Vancouver actually winning a couple of games this time. A much different Oilers team went in to the series as underdogs to the Smythe division champion Canucks. But an experienced and determined Oilers team was able to win in six games in their last playoff run before a four-year playoff drought.
2024 division final, Oilers defeat Canucks 4–3
In an incredibly tense, close, and testy seven-game series, the Oilers just found a way to make it through the Canucks. From the Oilers side, this was a show of determination and resilience as they fought off elimination in two consecutive games to win from a 3–2 series deficit. In the middle of solving a goaltending crisis as Calvin Pickard had to come in and save the day in Game 4 while Stuart Skinner got a two-game reset to battle struggles in his play.
The Canucks showed a level of battle that pushed Edmonton to the brink, with an improbable comeback in game one to set the tone for the series. The tensions rose in game three with a high cross check that led to defender Carson Soucy being suspended for one game, an incident that bled over into this season as well in a scrum that led to McDavid and Tyler Myers each receiving their own suspensions.
Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks playoff history
These two teams have the most playoff history in this trio of rivals, with seven postseason appearances spread out over the Flames’ 43 seasons in Calgary. The Flames currently have a 5–2 record over the Canucks in playoff series.
1982 divison semifinal, Canucks defeat Flames 3–0
The first ever meeting between these two teams in the postseason, and the Flames did not stand much of a chance. The Canucks were on a roll these playoffs as they steamrolled through Calgary in an opening round sweep on their way to a Stanley Cup Final berth. The Flames only scored five goals in these three games, with three of them coming in the first game. A far cry from the team that finished sixth in regular season scoring that season.
1983 division semifinals, Flames defeat Canucks 3–1
A quick rematch to give the Flames a chance to enact revenge, and they capitalized on it by taking this series in four games to even up the head-to-head matchup. Now hitting the upswing in the Flames’ success through the 80s, and their third straight playoff appearance at this point, they did not have the same scoring difficulties they faced the year prior. Calgary scored 17 goals in four games to advance to the second round, where the Oilers promptly eliminated them in five games. On the other hand, the Canucks from this point on hit a rough patch of mediocrity that saw them perpetually at the bottom of the division and would not make it past the first round of the playoffs for nine seasons.
1984 division semifinal, Flames defeat Canucks 3–1
Look familiar? The Flames, for the second year in a row, defeat the Canucks in four games in the opening round of the playoffs. This was the third consecutive season that these two teams met in the first round, with Calgary winning two of them. The Flames, once again, improved on their previous season’s point total while the Canucks regressed further.
In another moment of deja vu, Calgary would lose to the Oilers in the second round of the playoffs. This time, however, it took seven games.
1989 division semifinal, Flames defeat Canucks 4–3
For the fourth time in eight seasons, the Flames and Canucks battled it out in the opening round of the playoffs. This was the closest of those matchups as it took all seven games for Calgary to win. With the Flames fresh off their second consecutive President’s Trophy and a 43-point gap between them and Canucks in the regular season standings, this series was a lot closer than it probably should have been.
Nevertheless, Calgary made it through and didn’t look back as they only lost three more games over the final three rounds of the playoffs as they won their first Stanley Cup.
1994 conference quarterfinal, Canucks defeat Flames 4–3
After three straight series losses, the Canucks finally made it out of a matchup against the Flames. Vancouver had spent most of the 80s struggling as an organization, but as soon as the decade turned, things started looking up. The Canucks had their two best regular seasons as a franchise in 1991–92 and 1992–93, leading to the 1993–94 season that was one of the most memorable in franchise history.
The Flames, meanwhile, were at the tail end of their competitive era. They still matched up well against the Canucks, however they did lose in seven games as Vancouver went on to the Stanley Cup Final that season, losing to the New York Rangers.
2004 conference quarterfinal, Flames defeat Canucks 4–3
It may have taken a decade, but we got another Calgary versus Vancouver matchup in the playoffs, once again in the first round. The Flames were entering another competitive window with a new core led by Jarome Iginla and making their first playoff appearance after missing the seven seasons prior, while the Canucks were in the middle of the West Coast Express era guiding them to success.
The Flames got through in a tough seven-game series that saw the Canucks utilize three goaltenders and save their season in the sixth game with a triple overtime victory only to lose in Game 7. Calgary went on to the Stanley Cup Final that season where they lost in part due to a controversial call that would have given them a go-ahead goal in Game 6.
2015 conference quarterfinal, Flames defeat Canucks 4–2
In the final and most recent entry into this list, the Flames and Canucks faced off in the 2015 playoffs just over a decade after their last postseason encounter. Calgary was a major surprise in the playoffs for this season, after failing to qualify in the five seasons prior. Vancouver had a rebound year after missing the playoffs the previous season.
Earlier in the season was the infamous brawl that escalated to include even the coaches when Canucks Coach Tortorella confronted the Flames in the hallway during an intermission. That feistiness continued to the playoffs during this series. Game two ended in a massive line brawl that saw Deryk Engelland assessed three game misconducts and a total of 132 penalty minutes handed out. Later in the series, dirty hits on Sam Bennett and Johnny Gaudreau added fuel to the fire.
The Flames prevailed in six games, only to lose in the second round to the Anaheim Ducks. This was the only time in an eight-season span that the Canucks played postseason hockey.
These three teams have quite the storied history with some amazing playoff matchups. Unfortunately, the past couple decades have not been kind to these rivalries as the teams struggle to stay competitive in general, nevermind at the same time. But over the past decade, all three of these matchups have taken place and all three times it has led to and been a part of an exciting resurgence in the individual rivalries.
We look forward to a time when all three teams are contenders at the same time for the tensions to really rise up!
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
