As the Saddledome heads into its final season of hockey, some of the building’s best memories are getting another look. And if you want pure chaos, Feb. 1, 2020 belongs near the top of the list.
That night’s Battle of Alberta had everything: early scoring, a goalie switch, a bench-clearing kind of tension without the benches, and then the kind of moment that still stands out because it almost never happens. Two goaltenders fought at centre ice.
The Flames were trying to complete a season sweep after winning the first three meetings against Edmonton. Instead, the Oilers came out flying and buried Calgary in the opening minutes.
Kailer Yamamoto scored 29 seconds in, Zach Kassian followed 36 seconds later, and the Flames were suddenly down 2-0 just 1:05 into the first period. Buddy Robinson answered for Calgary, but Connor McDavid’s late power-play goal sent Edmonton to the first intermission up 3-1.
It only got messier from there.
By 3:18 of the second period, Calgary starter David Rittich was pulled in favor of Cam Talbot. Edmonton kept pouring it on and had built a 6-3 lead by the 15:58 mark of the period.
At that point, the game had clearly shifted from hockey to something much more combustible. After nearly every whistle near either net, the scrums got bigger and the tempers got hotter.
Then came the sequence that turned a wild game into one of the strangest in Saddledome history. Late in the second period, Talbot covered a puck in his crease by laying on it.
Sam Gagner jabbed at the visible puck, and that set off a chain reaction. A crowd formed around Gagner, Talbot swung away in anger after being poked with a stick, and Matthew Tkachuk and Ethan Bear squared off at centre ice.
While that was unfolding, Edmonton goalie Mike Smith skated out to centre. Talbot followed.
What happened next was only the second goalie fight ever on Saddledome ice, after Miikka Kiprusoff and Tomas Vokoun in a Mar. 20, 2004 Flames/Predators game.
This one had a different kind of edge, though, because it happened in the middle of a Battle of Alberta that was already boiling over.
The aftermath mattered, too. Because Tkachuk and Bear fought during the same stoppage, Talbot and Smith were both ejected for taking part in a secondary altercation. That sent Rittich back into the game after he had already been pulled earlier in the period.
Edmonton added two more goals in the third and rolled to an 8-3 win. Six weeks later, the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but not before the Flames and Oilers finished their full regular-season series and delivered a handful of the rivalry’s most unhinged moments.
In Other News...
Aydar Suniev Is Giving The Flames A Real Roster Decision
Aydar Sunievs first full pro season gave the Flames something they did not have much of a year ago: a legitimate young winger forcing his way into the conversation. After making his NHL debut at the end of the 2024-25 season, he spent most of 2025-26 with the Calgary Wranglers, where his game steadily climbed as the year went along and his production followed suit.
He also got another look in Calgary, appearing in six NHL games and collecting his first point along the way, a small but meaningful step for a player still learning how to translate his skill to the pro level. With another season of development ahead, the question for the Flames is no longer whether Suniev is on the radar. It is whether he is ready for more than a part-time role. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Just Created A Power-Play Dilemma Ryan Huska Cant Ignore
The Flames latest reshuffle on the blue line brought a clear message with it: Calgary is not just adding talent, it is changing the conversation around how its power play is going to look. Simon Nemec arrived from New Jersey in a deal that involved multiple draft picks and a player, and the young right-shot defenseman signed on for five years as part of the move. With his skill set and offensive upside, he immediately slots into the same conversation as Zayne Parekh, the other young right-shot defender who has been holding down the top power-play role.
For Ryan Huska, this is the kind of internal competition that can sharpen a roster but also force a difficult decision sooner than later. Parekh has already claimed that spot, and Nemec did not come to Calgary to stand around and wait for a turn, so the Flames suddenly have two players with a strong case for the same job. Calgary can live with that kind of depth, but it also means the coaching staff will have to decide whether to keep the current setup intact or rework the first unit around a new look. [Read more 🡒]
One Saddledome Playoff Classic Still Hits Flames Fans Right In The Heart
The memory of Calgarys 2022 playoff run still has a way of stopping Flames fans in their tracks, especially the kind that end with a roaring Saddledome and a series win that felt bigger than the moment itself. After pushing the Dallas Stars all the way to seven games, the Flames found one last answer at home in overtime, a finish that turned a tense spring into one of those rare nights supporters still talk about whenever postseason hockey comes up.
What makes it linger even more is how much changed soon after. Calgary went on to fall to Edmonton in the next round, then watched key pieces like Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau depart after that season, before the organization moved in a new direction in 2023 with Ryan Huska behind the bench and Craig Conroy running hockey operations. In that sense, the Dallas series stands as more than just a win in the record book - it feels like one of the last vivid snapshots of the previous era. [Read more 🡒]