It's a few days late, but I'm talking about Game 7 between the Calgary Flames (BTW: Happy golfing, guys! Go brand some calves, or whatever else it is Calgarians do for spring fun!) and the Edmonton Oilers on April 30, 1986.

Back then, I was working in the Edmonton area (I was born and raised in Edmonton) and was hoping along with everyone else for a third straight Stanley Cup triumph for the mighty Oilers.

They had finished first in the league. Gretzky had a 215-point year.

While Edmonton made short work of the Vancouver Canucks, the Calgary Flames proved to be a much grittier opponent.

After two periods of play, the Oilers and Flames were tied at two.

Early in the third period, on what looked to be a harmless play, Oilers defenceman Steve Smith took the puck out from behind his own net (the Flames' Perry Berezan had just dumped it in) and moved to his left.

He then tried to fire a pass up the centre of the ice, angling right, to a forward.

The one problem was that Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr was in the way. He didn't have his eye on Smith

The puck hit Fuhr in the back of his skates and rebounded back, crossing the Oilers' goal line.

Calgary 3. Edmonton 2. There were about 15 minutes of playing time left, but the score held until the end.

That stopped the Oilers from being an even greater dynasty than they actually were.

In a truly cruel bit of irony, April 30 is Smith's birthday. He turned 23 on that day of ignonomy.

Personally, at the time, watching that goal unfold can only being described to having both my breath sucked out of my lungs and my blood out of my veins simultaneously. Multiply that sensation by a million or so.

The lede I remember the next day in the column of the Edmonton Sun's Terry Jones was this: "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" He then went on to say unkind things about poor Mr. Smith.

Frankly, the hate-Smith-kill-Smith thing by everyone was a bit overdone. Smith screwed up, but so did Fuhr by taking his eye off the play. The Oilers had chances after than, but couldn't rally to come back.

Smith went on to be a solid defenceman for the Oilers and other teams (including, gaaaack, Calgary! :) ). As evidence of why Gretzky can be considered the Great One, when the Oilers won the Stanley Cup again in 1987, the first person Wayne passed it after he received it was ... Steve Smith!

Anyways, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks bounced the Flames on Wednesday night. The modern-day Oilers beat Detroit and will play the San Jose Sharks in the next round.

I'll watch, but frankly, I really would have liked to see a Battle of Alberta barnburner again! :)

For more, see this Vue Weekly article on The 100-year War, or this April 1 Edmonton Journal article. ESPN.com rates it the eighth-worst Stanley Cup playoff choke of all time.

Another reminiscence can be found at Covered In Oil, which in turn points to Battle of Alberta.