Oilers Gameday – Vs. Avalance

The Oilers return to the ice tonight as they host the Colorado Avalanche in the second of three meetings between the teams this season. The sides will conclude their season series next week in Denver, while this meeting at Rexall Place is the lone one in Edmonton. The Oilers are currently 1-1-1 on their home-stand.

The Oilers will be without F Matt Fraser, who is out with a concussion, and likely without D Andrew Ference, who was hurt on Monday night. The Avalanche will be minus F’s Jesse Winchester, Borna Rendulic, Jamie McGinn and Patrick Bordeleau, along with D’s Ryan Wilson and Erik Johnson.

Ben Scrivens once again starts for the Oilers, while Semyon Varlamov goes for Colorado.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers last played on Monday when they hosted Winnipeg. The Oilers came out flying in the first six minutes, but the Jets quickly took over using their size and physical ability. Drew Stafford would convert off of an Oscar Klefbom turn-over 7:32 into the game to give the Jets a lead they would not lose.

Lee Stempniak would add insurance 5:31 into the second period as he jammed home a rebound, while Tyler Myers would officially put the game out of reach with a point-shot at the 16 minute mark while on the power-play.

The Oilers would get on the board just over a minute into the third thanks to a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins marker, but it meant nothing as Michael Frolik would ice the game on the power-play at the 12:17 mark. Ondrej Pavalec would stop 33 Oiler shots to preserve the 4-1 victory.

Colorado: The Avalanche also played on Monday night, as they were in Calgary to battle the Flames at the Saddledome. The Avalanche pushed the pace the entire first period, but Calgary scored first off of a David Jones goal 6:18 in. Alex Tanguay would tie things at the 17:46 mark, but the Flames quickly responded with a Jiri Hudler marker in the final minute.

Calgary would out-shoot the Avs 10-8 in the second period, but both goalies were solid as neither team could find the back of the net.

Calgary would gain insurance 8:40 in with a Lance Bouma goal that put them up 3-1. The Avalanche pushed back, getting a Gabriel Landeskog goal at the 10:46 mark, but Karri Ramo would shut it down from there, cementing the Flames 3-2 victory.

Last Meeting:

The Oilers and Avalanche last met in January in Denver in a closely contested tilt. The sides would play an even first period, evident by the scoreless result. The Avalanche would take over in the second however, as they out-shot Edmonton 12-5 and scored the game’s first goal compliments of Daniel Briere at the 7:55 mark.

The Oilers returned the favor in the third, as they out-shot Colorado 12-3 and tied the game thanks to a Benoit Pouliot goal at the 4:47 mark. Edmonton had a few other chances, but couldn’t convert as the sides went to overtime.

OT solved nothing, and a shoot-out was needed. Both Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay would score for Colorado, giving them a 2-1 victory over the Oilers.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Traffic in front of the net is key tonight for Edmonton. Semyon Varlamov is a very good goaltender, and rarely gets beaten cleanly. The Oilers are shooting the lights out right now, but Varly usually has success against teams like this. The Oilers must get dirty tonight and score those ugly goals. Paging Benoit Pouliot and Anton Lander….

Colorado: Pressure in the middle will be huge tonight. The Avalanche are dripping with talent, while Edmonton has a weak defense and very suspect goaltending. If the Avs can exploit the middle against Edmonton, they’ll fill the back of the net with ease.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: F Andrew Miller has played two NHL games, but has yet to find the scoresheet. In the bits and pieces I have seen, he’s actually looked pretty good to my eye. He provides speed and some skill to Edmonton’s third line, which is needed. I’ll keep a careful eye on this hopeful tonight.

Colorado: F Jarome Iginla is playing like it’s 2003 all over again right now. He’s been a dominating power-forward presence for Colorado this season, adding an element that the Avs badly needed up front. He usually dominates the Oilers, so I’ll be watching him closely tonight.

Quick Hits:

The Oilers had a four game point streak snapped on Monday night, one of their best stretches of the season. Edmonton’s last win over the Avalanche was on December 5th, 2013, an 8-2 victory. Jordan Eberle had his multi-game point streak snapped on Monday, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his career high 23rd goal. Gabriel Landeskog leads the Avs with 51 points in 72 games.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov

Taylor Hall – Anton Lander – Andrew Miller

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Rob Klinkhammer

Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – Mark Fayne

Nikita Nikitin – Keith Aulie

Ben Scrivens

Colorado Avalanche Lines:

John Mitchell – Matt Duchene – Jarome Iginla

Gabriel Landeskog – Ryan O’Reilly – Alex Tanguay

Cody McLeod – Marc-Andre Cliche – Dennis Everberg

Jordan Caron – Freddie Hamilton – Danny Briere

Nate Guenin – Tyson Barrie

Jan Hejda – Zach Redmond

Brad Stuart – Nick Holden

Semyon Varlamov