Mikael Backlund takes a cheap shot at Stuart Skinner.

It took less than a full period for things to turn ugly in the very first Battle of Alberta of the 2024-25 National Hockey League regular season.

The Edmonton Oilers and their fans were left fuming at the end of the first period after Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund took some liberties with Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, with no penalty being called on the play on top of it.

Backlund would give Skinner a light-looking slash to the unprotected part of his leg during a forecheck in which Skinner was playing the puck, catching Skinner behind the leg where there is no padding. Skinner would go down to the ice briefly but outside of that appeared to be relatively alright, with the force of the blow not being the most vicious thing you're ever going to see during a hockey game.

Nonetheless the Oilers bench was absolutely incensed following the slash from Backlund, and that frustration was no doubt fueled in part by the fact that the same officials who missed the call on the slash had just overturned an Oilers goal scored by Corey Perry due to goaltender interference.

Here is a look at the replay of the slash from Backlund to Skinner:

If you're curious about the goal that was overturned, you can also view that here: