Preview: Bouncing back in Edmonton

2 years ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images


We get to see MacKinnon vs. McDavid for the final time in the regular season.
The Colorado Avalanche wrap up their final two games in Canada for the regular season. Tonight, it holds a match-up against the Edmonton Oilers. The Avs in particular will look to get back in the win column.
The Oilers have not yet officially clinched a playoff spot yet. They will look to get closer to completing that task with a big win on home ice. It would make for a good Friday night in Northern Alberta.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avs have wrapped up the top spot in the Western Conference. With that being said, they have been resting a couple of players in the hope of staying healthy until the postseason starts in a little more than a week.
However, the Avs are slumping a little bit. They’ve lost two straight to the Washington Capitals and on Wednesday night against the Seattle Kraken in a disappointing 3-2 loss. While the games don’t particularly matter, the Avs should still be the better of the two teams.
With the Avs still in the hunt for the President's Trophy against the Florida Panthers, they will look to break the deadlock of 116 points both teams sit on. It will be a tough task against a good Edmonton side. With the team missing big names like Devon Toews, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen, it will a challenge to get the job done.
Projected Forwards
Andre Burakovsky (95) - Nathan MacKinnon (29) - Artturi Lehkonen (62)
Valeri Nichushkin (13) - Nazem Kadri (91) - J.T. Compher (37)
Alex Newhook (18) - Nico Sturm (78) - Logan O’Connor (25)
Andrew Cogliano (11) - Ben Meyers (59) - Darren Helm (43)
Projected Defenders
Bowen Byram (4) - Cale Makar (8)
Samuel Girard (49) - Josh Manson (42)
Kurtis MacDermid (56) - Jack Johnson (3)
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers sit in second in the Pacific Division on 96 points. They’re in the thick of the battle for second in the division with the Los Angeles Kings who sit a little further back on 92 points.
The Oilers are too far out from catching the Calgary Flames who are on 104 points on the year. For the Oilers' sake, the hope is to get home-ice advantage in at least the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Oilers inched ever closer to officially clinching a playoff spot Wednesday night. They put 50 shots on the Dallas Stars in a 5-2 home win. With a win over the Avs, they will clinch a playoff spot being too far ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights to catch them in points.
Projected Forwards
Evander Kane (91) - Connor McDavid (97) - Jesse Puljujarvi (13)
Zach Hyman (18) - Leon Draisaitl (29) - Kailer Yamamoto (56)
Warren Foegele (37) - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) - Derek Ryan (10)
Kris Russell (6) - Ryan McLeod (71) - Zach Kassian (44)
Projected Defenders
Darnell Nurse (25) - Cody Ceci (5)
Duncan Keith (2) - Evan Bouchard (75)
Brett Kulak (27) - Tyson Barrie (22)
Goaltenders
After a rough night for Pavel Francouz against the struggling Kraken, we should see Darcy Kuemper go in net for the Avs. For the Oilers, it should be Mike Smith looking to do his heroics to clinch a playoff spot for Edmonton.
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