Two hockey teams, both alike in dignity,
In fair Alberta, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal games of these two foes
A pair of numbers-crossed fans make their blog;
Whose misadventured piteous posts
Do with their sudden brilliance spark their fans strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd rivalry,
And the continuance of their commenters’ rage,
Which, but their teams end, neither could remove,
Is now the steady traffic of their blog;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What you shall miss, their site shall strive to mend.

• Huge game tonight, and I will be there. It's my birthday this week, and a good friend is taking me. YES! Between the game, the release of new Beatles and Jay-Z albums, the receiving of gifts, as well as my eventual birthday gathering--where I shall engage in meaningful conversation on Norse mythology and partake in a nunchuck battle with a deranged, drunken orangutan--it's going to be a fantastic week. My cup runneth over.

• The Oilers are 8-2 at home. The Flames are 3-4-2 on the road. Does that matter? I don't really think so, but it places the Oilers in a positive light, so I'll use it.

• The Oilers called up Zach Stortini Monday. The press release notes his points total for the year before his penalty minutes, but I'm fairly certain that the latter will be of greater import this evening. My guess is that Stortini will be in the lineup to protect Hemsky and others from Calgary's leap-happy defence.

• Andrew Ference has a new playlist up on ITunes. He's obviously a punk rocker, throwing out some Bad Religion, Face to Face, Offspring, Pennywise, Minor Threat and Vandals. But it was his Elliott Smith pick that impressed me the most.

• Brad Winchester is #9 on Mirtle's "Best Players You've Never Heard Of" list. I'm thinking "Winnie" is more Warren Young than Lowell Macdonald, but I'd be happy to be wrong. But the real question is how high Mägni Thöroson the Ëlectric Nörseman will be on Mirtle's list. I'd suggest that James put him in the top three. The Gods will not be mocked, my friend.

• RiversQ has some Even Strength numbers up on IoF. The general thrust is that Oilers haven't been very good at Even Strength. It's definitely worth a look. So too are Tyler's numbers. They take a look at Even Strength Strength of Schedule for the Oilers and Flames. Tyler suggests that both teams have been so-so at Even Strength because they have been playing really tough opponents. Some more traditional numbers worth looking at for tonight's game:

Goals Per Game: Edm 2.90 (15th), Cal 2.78 (18th)

Goals Against Per Game: Edm 2.65 (9th), Cal 2.33 (4th)

Powerplay %: Edm 15.2 (20th), Cal 14.3 (24th)

Penalty Kill %: Edm 90.3 (3rd), Cal 80.4 (24th)

• Needless to say, the Oilers need to take advantge of the Flames weak PK.

• Interesting stat of the day: the Flames have a .538 winning percentage when outshot in a game (12th). They have a .400 winning percentage when they outshoot an opponent (23rd). Obviously this supports the idea that the Flames can only win when they play boring, soulless hockey.

• There's a big Battle of California game tonight night as well. Here's hoping Earl gets hammered, writes some poetry, and beds Sammy Pahlsson.

Prediction: 4-2, Oilers. Smytty, Sykora, Pinto, and Horcoff with the empty-netter to seal the deal. Pinto gets three points on the night. Stortini fights Phaneuf, and I fight Phaneuf's mom. She wins, I dislocate my shoulder, and LT is forced to avenge my defeat by going all Gary Unger on her the next time the two teams meet.