The Edmonton Oilers clinch a playoff spot if they beat the Colorado Avalanche Friday night at Rogers Place.
“I see the two available points in front of us here tonight,” head coach Jay Woodcroft said Friday morning. “Both teams have something to play for. The Colorado Avalanche are in the President’s Trophy race. The Edmonton Oilers are in the race to try to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
The Oilers have gone 11-0-1 in their last 12 home games, the only blemish being a 2-1 shootout loss to the Avs on April 9.
“The two games we’ve played them have been really, really competitive games,” said winger Zach Hyman. “They have elite players. They play the right way. They play hard. They’re always a good test.”
Winger Jesse Puljujarvi will miss the game with an illness. Ryan McLeod will move up to play on a line with Hyman and Leon Draisaitl.
“It’s been a good year for myself with the team. I came in a with a little experience from last year. I was looking to prove that I belong there. Hopefully, I can continue to do that,” said McLeod.
The Oilers expected lineup is:
Kane – McDavid – Yamamoto
McLeod – Draisaitl – Hyman
Foegele – Nugent-Hopkins – Ryan
Shore or Brassard – Kassian
Nurse – Ceci
Keith – Bouchard
Kulak – Barrie
Russell
Smith
630 CHED will have all the action with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. and the game at 7 p.m.