The Edmonton Oilers are in town for a Western Conference matchup as the Colorado Avalanche continue their five-game homestand. The Oilers will play their second game of a back-to-back tonight after taking a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild. The Colorado Avalanche come into tonight after a gritty win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
Denver, Co. - It's a battle of the stars at Ball Arena tonight as the Colorado Avalanche prepare to host Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Edmonton Oilers. Tonight's matchup features Nathan MacKinnon, Draisaitl, McDavid, and Mikko Rantanen, who occupy four of the top five spots on the NHL points leaderboard. Rantanen (25) and Draisaitl (31) lead each of their respective teams in goals.
Due to playing their second game of their back-to-back, the Oilers did not take to the ice for morning skate today. Because of that, Oilers' Head Coach Kris Knoblauch was not available to confirm a starting goaltender for tonight. Seeing as Calvin Pickard played in their win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, all signs point to Stuart Skinner earning the start tonight.
For the Avalanche on the other side of the ice, it'll be Mackenzie Blackwood in net. Scott Wedgewood, who returned to the roster on Tuesday, will back him up.
Blackwood was given credit from teammates and Head Coach Jared Bednar for being the reason they came away with a win against the Rangers on Tuesday. During his postgame press availability, Bednar regarded him as the team's best player. Since joining the team on 12/14, Blackwood hasn't let in more than two goals while in the net.
To shift gears, here are the three keys to the game:
1.) A Fresh "Oil Change" Won't Be Enough
Both teams have enough momentum, if not incentive, to come out on top tonight. The Avalanche took a 4-1 beating the last time Edmonton was in town (November 30th). The biggest difference between then and now? Goaltending.
Though, as stated before, Blackwood has succeeded in only allowing two (if not fewer) goals in his time spent in Colorado's crease, goaltending alone can only win you games so many times. Coach Bednar was far from happy with the team's performance after Tuesday's game, a feeling Rantanen shared following today's morning skate.
-"Overall, we gave up too many chances and [left the game] up to chance. Obviously, we're thankful for [Blackwood], he had an excellent night, he was our guy night and made some big saves, but defensively, we have to be better."
Bednar credited Tuesday's overtime winner - courtesy of Devon Toews by way of Logan O'Connor - to effort. When the entire game is broken down, that's solely what won that game for the Avalanche: finding a spark by blending the best guys into lines that "wanted to play" and pure effort.
Some of the success from those blended lines are slated to make that same start tonight. For example, Rantanen, who rarely ever plays at center, was given a look at the position during Tuesday's third-period mashup. Bednar told the media that's where the forward will start tonight.
Repetition doesn't always equal success, but Bednar and his team are surely hoping it leads to something - anything - better than the performance given for most of Tuesday's game.
2.) Don't Let the Superstars Shine
Don't be misled, because surely everyone hopes for a solid performance from Colorado's stars in MacKinnon, Rantanen, and defenseman Cale Makar. Those superstars are exempt from this header. Instead, this focuses on team leaders Draisaitl and McDavid, who are sniffing Hart Trophy contention along with MacKinnon this season.
While Draisaitl didn't score in last night's win over the Wild, he did pick up a helper on Zach Hyman's goal. McDavid, on the other hand, went on hat-trick watch just over halfway through the third period and totaled three points on the night.
It's no secret that the three-time Hart Trophy winner is good at hockey, but his usual line partner Leon Draisaitl has no doubt made a name for himself, this season especially.
-Jared Bednar on Leon Draisaitl: "[He has] a lot of the same characteristics and attributes that Mikko [Rantanen] has. Big guy, strong, good skater, great passer, he has the ability to play with guys draped all over him and still make nice plays, whether it's shooting or passing. [He's] a lot to handle. Obviously, both are highly intelligent hockey players. You add the mix of their size, speed, skill, passing ability, shooting ability into that, it's tough to check."
3.) Douse the Fired-Up Oilers in Snow
The Oilers are 4-4-0 on the second game of back-to-backs this season, but don't let that take away from their ability to battle for wins. They're half-successful in these battles, but their successes are loud when achieved.
Even taking away that this is a back-to-back for Edmonton, their resounding win came thanks to four different goal scorers on the scoresheet with eight different players each with an assist. That kind of deep contribution can be lethal for other teams, especially when you're trying to manage shifts to contain the best players. Obviously, every team has a best player or two, but when the whole team chips in on a win... Let's just say it's a lot easier to defend against one good line rather than three or four.
The Oilers have a lot of momentum, thanks to that win, coming into tonight which already makes them dangerous enough when considering that the Avalanche still have a game they need to find from players all across the lineup following Tuesday's performance.
Where/How to Find the Game:
Puck drop is slated for 7:45* pm Mountain Time.
* - subject to change depending on the chain of events during the Detroit Red Wings/Florida Panthers matchup.
Marc Moser and Mark Rycroft get a rare night off tonight while ESPN takes the reigns for a national broadcast of tonight's star-studded matchup.
For all of the local radio listeners, Conor McGahey will still have the call over on Altitude Sports Radio.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Colorado Avalanche site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
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