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After playing two games in five days, the Edmonton Eskimos have been easing into this week’s Battle of Alberta, relatively speaking.

Having dispatched the Toronto Argonauts 26-0 last Thursday, the Eskimos are now on an eight-day stretch before heading to McMahon Stadium to face the rival Calgary Stampeders on Saturday (5 p.m., TSN, 630 CHED).

“We had two (road) games in 10 days. We went across country, came back, had a practice and played two games,” said Eskimos head coach Jason Maas, whose squad played on polar opposite sides of the country, with a game against the B.C. Lions on July 11 before facing the Montreal Alouettes on July 20. “We’ve got quite a few guys that needed some days off, I think we only have six guys on our roster who didn’t play in those games.

“Any time you play, you’d like to have a few days off in between each game, let alone when you have two.”

Only to turn around five days later and shut out the opposition at home.

“As an organization, I think we did it the right way. We put a lot of work into that short week and got a lot out of it,” Maas said. “Any time your players can play up to the ability they did in this league and win a ball game at home, it’s a big deal.

“And when you do it on a short week with little rest, as physical as both games were, it says a lot about the guys that we have in our room.”

Email: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge