After going winless on a two-game road trip this week, the Edmonton Oilers are preparing for a marquee matchup at Rogers Place on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche.
The game features two of the NHL’s leaders in points scored this season: Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (130) and Oilers captain Connor McDavid (126). Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov remains in the league lead with 133 points.
On March 16, the last time the two clubs met, MacKinnon played a key role in the Avs’ 3-2 overtime victory over the Oilers. Each of the last four games between Edmonton and Colorado have not been settled in regulation time.
Plenty of hockey commentators see both the Oilers and the Avs as clubs with the potential to have long runs in the NHL playoffs this year. In 2022, the Oilers lost to the Avs in the Western Conference final before Colorado went on to become Stanley Cup champion.
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The Oilers (45-24-5) have gone 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and occupy second place in the NHL’s Pacific Division. They currently have seven fewer points than the division-leading Vancouver Canucks but have played two fewer games than the B.C. club.
The Avalanche (48-22-6) are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and sit in second place in the Central Division. The team is just three points behind the Dallas Stars, who sit in first place.
On Wednesday, the Oilers were beaten 5-0 by the Stars in Texas.
“They’re playing really good hockey, they are a really good team,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said of the Stars after the game. “Coming here was a challenge for us and we came up short.
“I thought it was a good test to see how good we are, and we still have some work to do to catch up to them.”
The Oilers outshot the Stars 17-10 in the first period but couldn’t get a puck past Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger.
The Oilers were shut out for just the third time this season.
“I think we were all pretty happy with our first period,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the game. “I thought we were skating well and created a lot of chances.
“Then they get that second one and we completely go off-script. That’s not our game.”
On Monday, the Oilers lost 3-2 to the Blues in St. Louis.
Colorado has a 19-15-5 record on the road, while Edmonton has a 25-8-3 record on home ice at Rogers Place.
You can listen to Friday’s game between the Oilers and the Avs live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 5:30 p.m. The game starts at 7 p.m.
The Oilers will also face the Avs in Edmonton’s last game of the regular season on April 18.
After Friday night’s game against the Avs, the Oilers will prepare to head down the QEII to face the Calgary Flames in a Saturday night Battle of Alberta at the Saddledome.
— with files from The Associated Press and 630 CHED’s Reid Wilkins
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