Mike Smith and Cam Talbot drop the gloves
(Screenshot/ Sportsnet).

The Battle of Alberta is alive and well.

All hell broke loose between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday evening. The two teams had played three very heated games this season leading up to Saturday’s fourth meeting of the season.

Things reached a boiling point in the second period when Flames’ goaltender Cam Talbot took exception to a late jab from Sam Gagner after the whistle. A full on donnybrook broke out, including a goalie fight between Cam Talbot and Mike Smith. It’s the first ever goalie fight in the history of the Battle of Alberta.

It all starts with Gagner jabbing at Talbot, before Matthew Tkachuk and Ethan Bear drop the gloves. Mike Smith then comes out to center ice to challenge Talbot and they have a rare goalie fight.

You can watch full video of the brawl and goalie fight below.

Here’s the replay Sportsnet showed of the goalie fight between Smith and Talbot.

Both goalies were ejected from the game for the fight. Cam Talbot got an extra penalty for roughing on Sam Gagner. Both Smith and Talbot got five minutes for fighting and 10-minute misconducts. According to Elliotte Friedman, Talbot’s 21 PIM tonight were the most by any NHL goaltender since Ryan Miller with the Canucks against the Maple Leafs in November, 2016.

While a goalie fight is epic, what makes this one so special is that it’s between two goalies who used to play for the opposing team. Talbot spent three and a half years as goaltender for the Oilers before being traded to the Flyers in 2019. He signed with the Flames as a UFA this summer. Mike Smith spent two seasons as starting goaltender for the Flames before signing with the Oilers this summer.

The Battle of Alberta is great for hockey, and all hockey fans are salivating of the possibility of seeing these two teams faceoff in a best-of-seven series in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Oilers are currently second in the Pacific Division with 62 points, while the Flames occupy the first Western Conference Wildcard spot with 60 points.

The Flames and Oilers will play one final time in the regular season on April 4th at Scotiabank Saddledome.