The Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers in the two contests they've played this season, but both teams come into Ball Arena Tuesday night on winning streaks.
DENVER – The importance of Tuesday night’s game for the Colorado Avalanche is more than just a win, it’s a rite of passage. The Edmonton Oilers are hot right now and as coach Jared Bednar said after this morning’s skate, they’re dangerous.
“We’re trying to win. Finish first in the division, the conference, home-ice advantage. Lots on the line.
“Our focus right now is on winning tonight. That’s what’s immediately in front of us, that’s what we have to focus on,” Bednar said.
The Oilers come into Ball Arena with a 9-0-1 record in their last 10 games, but the Avalanche are right there with them having only lost two in the last 10. Edmonton has three players with over 100 points this season, the Avalanche now have two. The similarities between the teams are striking -- the offensive power on both teams will make this a playoff-esque type of matchup.
“They’re playing really well and obviously their top guys are leading the way like they’ve been all year. It’s not very often that three guys get to 100 points on the same team and they’ve been doing it,” Mikko Rantanen said Tuesday morning. “Obviously their power play is first in the league by a mile, so we gotta be careful with that. Stay out of the box.”
Connor McDavid is the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 to hit 150 points in 80 games. His now 151 points combined with teammate Leon Draisaitl’s 124 points make them an extremely dangerous pair.
“Yeah it’s a big game. Obviously, we’re playing a really good team with a lot of good players,” Bowen Byram said. “So we want to perform well and put our best foot forward.”
Byram, who was out with the flu the last two games, will return to the ice against the Oilers. Bednar said Kurtis MacDermid is out of the lineup, along with Cale Makar and Josh Manson.
The Avalanche have faced the Oilers twice this season and it came down to overtime in both games with Colorado prevailing in both contests. With this being the third to last game of the regular season and position in the standings on the line, energy and intensity levels will be high.
“Good test, I think, these are the games we need right before the playoffs because they’re a very good team and gives a good test for us,” Rantanen said.
Bednar praises his top scorers
Both Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen reached milestones on the long road trip in California - 100 points for both of them and 50 goals for Rantanen.
“I’m impressed with those guys on a daily basis since the day I got here. I think those milestones in this year, for me, they’re even more impressive,” Bednar said.
With Gabriel Landeskog out the entire season, MacKinnon and Rantanen have had to shuffle around with other players while there have been rotating injuries throughout the year.
“So for those guys to be split up playing with different linemates all the time, the inconsistency there and still be able to reach 100 points each, just kind of shows you how much they’ve matured as players and rounded out their game and what they’ve learned over the years as far as being more competitive on a nightly basis,” Bednar said of the duo.
And Rantanen humbly appreciates the nod as the third Finnish player in NHL history to hit 100 points in a season. Jari Kurri and Teemu Selanne preceded him but were equally as proud to welcome him to the list. And Selanne congratulated his fellow countryman on Twitter, who he's taking credit for his "magic touch."
“Big pleasure to be even named with Kurri and Selanne. And you know the three Finns that now made it,” Rantanen said. “Big honor to be in the same sentence with those two.”
‘Happy hockey players are more productive'
Bednar was glad that Alex Newhook broke his dry spell on the road trip as he's been creating a lot of scoring chances but just wasn't getting it in the net. And he said it was a relief for Newhook to take some pressure off of himself.
The significance of the team playing together and being on the same page and having fun out there is crucial, especially going into the playoffs.
“You want all your players feeling good about the role they’re playing and what they’re helping their team do to win hockey games going into the playoffs,” Bednar said. “Happy hockey players are more productive. So as many guys as we can get going, the better off we are.”