Kassian shares the details of on-ice conversation with Tkachuk prior to spirited fight

In case you missed it, the Battle of Alberta was a sight to behold yesterday evening.

After a mostly sleepy first period of hockey, Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Calgary Flames forward Sean Monahan elected to drop the gloves to ramp things up as the first period was winding down

Check it out:

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And then… THE MAIN EVENT!

Big Zack Kassian and Matthew Tkachuk FINALLY drop the gloves and even things up:

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After the game Kassian gave some props to his opponent and shared the details of his and Tkachuk's exchange prior to dropping the gloves.

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"He wanted to fight right away," said Kassian of Tkachuk. "But I wanted to keep him guessing a little bit. But he wanted to and I respect him for that. I told him before we even dropped the gloves when we were gonna. That's the way it is. Now it's over. I wish it would have happened in the first place and then it would have been done. But I respect him for stepping up to the plate."

"Obviously he wanted to get it done and over quick. And, like I said, I respect the guy. I always said he was a good player and I respect him for stepping up to the plate like that."

Old. Time. Hockey! Love this!

Later on Oilers captain Connor McDavid became incensed with the officials after they missed what he felt was a blatant knee on knee attempt from Flames captain Mark Giordano.

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Another look:

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The score!? Oh right! There was a hockey game being played… I almost forgot. In the end, the Flames earned a 4-3 shootout victory that was capped off by an epic “bat flip” celebration from Flames netminder David Rittich.

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What a game. Give me a first round playoff matchup between these two, NOW!