Colorado Avalanche (32-23-4) (6th, Central)

Edmonton Oilers (24-31-4) (7th, Pacific)

7:00 PM

Rogers Place

TV: Sportsnet One

Radio: 630 CHED

SB Nation Opponent: Mile High Hockey

BREAKDOWN

The Bruins would end up outshooting Edmonton by a 9/4 ratio, but it was the Oilers who had a 2-0 lead at the conclusion of two periods on Tuesday night. The Bruins would spoil Edmonton’s two goal lead with a three goal third, including a game winner from David Krejci with just over a minute remaining in regulation time. The Bruins finished up a 2-0 sweep of Alberta, while the Oilers have now gone 0-6-1 in their last seven.

Oilers try to fill the win column before heading back out on the road with a visit from Colorado. Though sixth in their division, the Avalanche are just two points away from the final wild card spot in the West. Can the Oilers put a damper on their efforts tonight?

Let’s go to the tape.

The Oilers are saying

“I’m still at a loss right now,...We’re up 2-0, we knew that they were going to come. They get a lucky bounce on the first one. [Strome] is doing his job backchecking to the paint. Tough bounce..”

Source

That’s Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot on Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Bruins.

Talbot’s not holding back anything at this point. David Krejci scored the game winner with 1:04 remaining in the third period.

Boston outshot the Oilers 45-20.

The Avalanche are saying

“We wanted to load up, Tyson and myself, the best we could, and we talked about it,” “When I give it to him, it kind of drags everybody over to that one side and hopefully opens up some room for me on the short side, and it worked out.”

Source

That’s Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon on Tuesday’s 5-4 victory over the Canucks.

MacKinnon scored the game winner from Tyson Barrie, who had five points against Vancouver. Hey, that’s not too bad.

Have some of this

• DON’T YOU RISK THAT SECOND ROUND PICK DUE TO AN INJURY I DEMAND MAGIC BEANS BY THE TRADE DEADLINE.
• As I mentioned earlier, the Central is a logjam right now. The Avalanche are just two points away from the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, though they are currently seventh sixth in the division. A win tonight puts them right in the middle of things again.
• No points for Connor McDavid in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Bruins, but he is clocked in at 69 points in just 59 games so far. (23-46-69). Nice.
• NUGE ON SKATES: This is from Tuesday, but I got Duran Duran’s “Girls On Film” when I thought “Nuge On Skates”. He’s gotta be a while away, it is getting to the end of February. Not sure of his exact return, but the club will be relieved to have him back when he’s 100%. Go on, try to get “Girls On Film” out of your head now.
• Colorado is eighth in goals per game (3.1 avg). They rank 19th overall in goals against (2.98 avg). They’re right in the middle when it comes to the power play at 15th overall (20.3%), but their PK is third in the league (83.1%). Oilers’ PK still hanging out at 31st overall (72.3%)
• NET GAINS: Al Montoya is back from his upper body injury, though it’s a good guess that Cam Talbot will likely go tonight (20-23-2, .903SV%, 3.12 GAA / 1 SO). Look for Semyon Varlamov (30-15-2 .912SV%, 2.87 GAA / 2 SO) tonight.
• SICK BAY: Edmonton is without Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (ribs), and Andrej Sekera (face). The Avalanche are without Sven Andrighetto (leg), Mark Barberio (lower body), goaltender Jonathan Bernier (concussion), defenceman Erik Johnson (upper body) and defenceman Anton Lindholm (concussion). Sheesh.