Any night is a good night for hockey, but in the eyes of generations of hockey fans, Saturday nights are sacred.
If your team is scheduled to play on Saturday night, especially against a Canadian opponent,
you drop everything.
Tonight, the Colorado Avalanche is that team, as they slot into the most coveted night of the weekly hockey schedule as they face the back-to-back Western Conference Champion Edmonton Oilers.
Colorado Avalanche (8-1-5)
The Opponent: Edmonton Oilers (6-5-4)
Time: 8:00 P.M. MST/10:00 P.M. EST
Watch: ALT2, KTVD (Avalanche Broadcast Area), ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Avalanche Broadcast Area – US), CBC, SN+, TVAS+ (Canadian Broadcast Areas)
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Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche are coming into this weekend’s games fresh off a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Ball Arena on Tuesday evening. More importantly, the Avs are coming into this set of weekend games with more rest than they’ve had lately, having only played twice in the last seven days. The extra down time should pay immediate dividends, as a rested Avs squad will be able to lean into one of their greatest assets—their speed—to make for a difficult assignment against the Oilers.
The power play remains a sore spot for the Avalanche, which is currently ranked 23rd in the League (17.0%). The power pay has found some life of late, but consistency still remains elusive. The penalty kill ranks second (90.5%), which will be vital against an Edmonton Oilers squad boasting two of the premier goal scorers in the League in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood will likely get the start tonight. Wedgewood, currently with eight wins on the season, has a chance to extend his lead in wins by a goaltender in the League. MacKenzie Blackwood, who made his season debut in goal last Saturday against the San Jose Sharks, will presumably start Sunday evening in Vancouver, provided that head coach Jared Bednar opts to give him another start to gauge his recovery from injuries he sustained during the offseason.
Sam Girard did not travel with the team. He is also recovering from an injury during the season opener against Utah.
The Avalanche lost two of three against Edmonton last year, their lone victory coming at Rogers Place on February 07 (a 5-4 decision). Martin Nečas scored the tie-breaking (and game-winning) goal in that contest to secure the victory. The newly-extended right-winger has been on a torrid pace to begin the season, ranking second on the team in goals (9) and points (18), while ranking third in assists (9). Nathan MacKinnon leads the team in goals goals (10) and points (20) and his 10 assists rank second to Cale Makar’s 14 for the team lead.
The Avalanche are 1-3 in back-to-back games this season, all of which have been played on the road. This weekend’s action will see another pair of back-to-back road games, and their second set against Pacific Division opponents. Coming into tonight’s game, the Avs are tops in the standings across the Central Division, the Western Conference, and the entire NHL. A victory in Edmonton will ensure that doesn’t change.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Gabe Landeskog – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson
Zakhar Bardakov – Parker Kelly – Gavin Brindley*
Defense:
Cale Makar – Devon Toews
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Jack Ahcan – Sam Malinski
Between the Pipes:
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
*As of this writing, the Avalanche have not announced a transaction to fill Brindley’s roster spot. Brindley has not seen game action since October 31 at Vegas.
Edmonton Oilers
Don’t be fooled by Edmonton’s pedestrian 6-5-3 record to start the season: this team has been the class of the Western Conference two years in a row. Their bid for their first Stanley Cup championship in thirty-five years again fell short as they dejectedly watched Florida claim their second Stanley Cup title in as many years this past June. Unlike the previous season where Edmonton mounted a valiant comeback to force a Game Seven in the Stanley Cup Final, Florida dispatched Edmonton in five games to secure their repeat championship.
The biggest and certainly most important move the Oilers made in the offseason came in the form of the two-year, $25 million dollar extension signed by franchise cornerstone Connor McDavid. While Oilers fans are breathing a sigh of relief, they are patently aware that the championship window may very well last through the duration of McDavid’s extension if their championship aspirations fall short again. While turning in two consecutive appearances in Stanley Cup Final is an impressive accomplishment in its own right, the prevalent opinion among Oilers fans is that “close enough” isn’t good enough coming into this season, especially given the uncertainty on the horizon if the franchise doesn’t realize its championship potential.
McDavid currently leads Edmonton in assists (17) and points (21), but surprisingly only has score four goals all season, tying him with Andrew Mangiapane for third place on the roster. Edmonton’s leading goal scorer is their other premier center in Leon Draisaitl, who has ten goals to this point of the season, six of which have come on the power play. Draisaitl ranks second to McDavid in points (17) and fourth in assists (7). It won’t be long before McDavid rediscovers his scoring touch and challenges Draisaitl for the team lead in every scoring category.
In its bid to make a third consecutive run to the Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton handed out some other big ticket contracts through the offseason. Trent Frederic signed an eight year, $30 million dollar contract extension in June. Jake Walman signed a seven year, $49 million dollar contract extension on the eve of the season. Vasily Podkolzin’s three year, $8.85 million dollar extension in September almost seems tame by comparison.
Edmonton did find enough pennies in their couch cushions after these hefty signings for three more roster additions in Kasperi Kapanen, Curtis Lazar, and Jack Roslovic, all of whom signed one-year contracts. Roslovic was the most noteworthy of the trio, coming off a season where he tied his career high in goals (22) last year with Carolina. He currently ranks fifth in goals scored (3) and points (8) with Edmonton thus far.
Edmonton comes into tonight’s game off two consecutive losses against Central Division opponents: a 3-2 decision on the road against the St. Louis Blues this past Monday, and a 4-3 shootout decision against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.
Despite struggling on the road this season, Edmonton is 4-0-2 at Rogers Place, and is one of two teams in the League that has yet to lose in regulation on home ice. The other team is none other than the Colorado Avalanche, who sport an identical record at Ball Arena.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Andrew Mangiapane
Vasily Podkolzin – Leon Draisaitl – Jack Roslovic
Matt Savoie – Adam Henrique – Trent Frederic
Isaac Howard – Noah Philp – David Tomasek
Defense:
Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Jake Walman
Brett Kulak – Alec Regula
Between the Pipes:
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
