Oilers’ Janmark gets in potential fight of the year against Flames

The Battle of Alberta was reignited at Rogers Place on Saturday night between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

After the first two matchups lacked the physical flair that fans have become accustomed to, this edition looked to make up for it. The two teams were at each other’s throats for most of the first period, but things came to a head in the second period as Oilers forward Mattias Janmark, of all people, decided to drop the gloves with gritty Flames forward Blake Coleman.

The result was an exhilarating fight that saw both players throw multiple haymakers—definitely a contender for fight of the year.

The tale of the tape between these two fighters favours Coleman, who has been in seven career fights in the NHL compared to Janmark’s one. That didn’t stop him from landing a few devasting punches directly into Coleman’s face.

It was truly a bout worthy of the battle of Alberta, as it got the home crowd fired right up. They serenaded the Flames with an interesting chant just a few shifts earlier.

The fight was reminiscent of a previous bout between two unexpected combatants in the Battle of Alberta when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins dropped the gloves with Sean Monahan in 2020.

Hockey is better when these two teams hate each other, and it doesn’t look like much love has been lost lately.