BOSTON PIZZA GAME PREVIEW
Friday, 16 January 2009
FINAL
3 - 2
FINAL 1 2 3 T
Oilers 2 0 1 3
Avalanche 1 1 0 2
GOAL SCORERS

EDM:   S. Staios (02:10 - 1st) , T. Gilbert (PPG, 19:23 - 1st) , S. Horcoff (13:25 - 3rd)
COL:   T. Arnason (16:22 - 1st) , T. Hensick (12:28 - 2nd)
GOALIES

EDM: M. Garon (W)
 COL: A. Raycroft (L)
Preview: Oilers at Avalanche

EDMONTON OILERS (21-19-3) at
COLORADO AVALANCHE (22-21-1)

Start Time: 7:38 p.m. MST
Television: TSN (HD)
Radio: 630 CHED, Oilers Radio Network and online at edmontonoilers.com.

Today's Game Notes | Oilers/Avalanche Head-to-Head | Stats Comparison
LINEUP UPDATES: Mathieu Garon will start in goal.
Jordan Leopold #44 of the Colorado Avalanche skates against Kyle Brodziak #51 of the Edmonton Oilers at the Pepsi Center on October 23 2008 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
by Marc Ciampa | edmontonoilers.com

THE ESSENTIALS FOR TONIGHT
  • Pre-Game Video & Audio
  • Media Game Notes
  • Oilers/Avalanche Stats Comparison
  • Individual Stats Versus Opposition
  • The Other Side
  • Odds and Ends
  • Wire Story Preview
  • Message Board Game Day Thread
    		•
    The most crucial stretch of the season to-date for the Edmonton Oilers continues tonight when the team travels to Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche.

    Colorado is tied with the Oilers in the standings with 45 points. Both teams sit in 10th spot in the Western Conference, one point behind ninth-place Columbus and two back of Minnesota for the eighth and final playoff spot.

    The Oilers lost to those Minnesota Wild last night, by a 5-1 score but look to get back on track this evening. After tonight's game against Colorado they face the 7th place Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday and the 9th place Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday as they go into direct competition with the teams fighting to get into the postseason.

    Colorado also had a disappointing game last night, dropping a 5-2 decision to the worst team in the Western Conference - the St. Louis Blues. Like the Oilers, they travelled overnight to get to this game today.

    The Avalanche have dropped two straight games now following three straight wins previous to that.

    This is the fourth meeting of the season between these two teams. The two teams traded 3-2 wins at Rexall Place earlier this year and the Avalanche prevailed over the Oilers 4-1 here at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

    Just The Facts...

     
    OILERS TO WATCH: Mathieu Garon could get the start in goal tonight for the Oilers. Garon has started two of the three previous games this season between Edmonton and Colorado. He has a 1-1-0 record with a 3.00 goals-against average and .897 save percentage against the Avs... Shawn Horcoff leads the Oilers with three points (two goals) in three games versus Colorado... Liam Reddox scored his third goal of the season last night against Minnesota. He has a goal in one game against Colorado this year.

    AVALANCHE TO WATCH: Former Oilers player Ryan Smyth comes into this game on a five-game scoring streak. He has three goals and four assists for seven points during that time... Noted Oiler-killer Tyler Arnason also comes into tonight on a streak. He has three assists in his last three games. Arnason has 13 goals and 26 points in 30 career games against Edmonton... Smyth comes into this game with 299 career goals, as does Milan Hejduk.

    ROSTER UPDATES: Edmonton—Robert Nilsson (concussion) is out; Ales Hemsky (concussion) is out; Fernando Pisani (ankle) is out.; Jason Strudwick (wrist) is questionable) Colorado—Adam Foote (tricep) is out. David Jones (back) is day-to-day. Ian Laperriere (back) is day-to-day.  Cody McCormick (foot) is out. Joe Sakic (back/hand) is out. Paul Stastny (broken forearm) is out.
     
    FAST FACTS: The Avalanche has played a league-high 25 one-goal games this season … The Avs are tied for the NHL lead with 16 one-goal wins, posting a 16-8-1 record in those 25 contests … 57% of Colorado's games this year have been decided by one goal... Colorado is 5-7-0 against the Northwest Division this season but are 4-3-0 in their last seven games versus divisional opponents. Edmonton is 5-6-1 against the Northwest... Colorado is 15-0-0 when leading after two periods. - the only NHL team to win every game when leading after 40 minutes The Oilers are 12-0-1... The Oilers have the 28th ranked penalty killing in the NHL at 75.5%. The Avalanche aren't much better at 77.9% which is good for 25th in the League... The Avs are 8-1 in overtime this season... Colorado is 9-3-0 in its last 12 home games. Colorado is playing the second half of back-to-back games tonight and are 1-4-0 in that situation this season.
    The Answers

    Pre-Game Video...
     Pre-Game Audio... Thursday's Post-Game Video...
     Thursday's Post-Game Audio...

    The Other Side - news from coloradoavalanche.com
    • Raycroft makes "saves of the week" list - Avalanche netminder Andrew Raycroft is featured not once, but twice on NHL.com's "Saves of the Week." Check out the video to see where Raycroft's two stops landed on this week's list ...more
    • Avscast: Billington discusses prospects - Avalanche Vice President of Hockey Operations Craig Billington is our guest on the latest edition of AvsCast. The former NHL netminder discussed Colorado's amateur prospects, with a focus on the defensive depth in the system ...more

    From the Fans

    Odds and Ends
    • Nine Days of Anderson: Day 6 "Coming Back against the Jets" - Oilers great Glenn Anderson will have his jersey retired this Sunday, January 18. Every day until then, we are rolling out video and features on number nine. Day 6 looks back at the Oilers' 1990 series comeback against the Winnipeg Jets. ...more
    • This or That? with Gilbert Brule - Things aren't always black and white, but we made Gilbert Brule choose Option A or Option B on a variety of topics, including breakfast foods, "Tom" idols, and superheroes. Click to check out his favourites. ...more
    • Strudwick makes Hits of the Week - See where Edmonton's Jason Strudwick ranked among the top 10 hits of the past week in the NHL.
    • WATCH

    From the Wire (AP)

    If the Colorado Avalanche were looking for an opportunity to help better their position in the Western Conference playoff race, the time is now.

    The Avalanche open their season-long stretch of eight straight home games while looking to hand the Edmonton Oilers their sixth consecutive loss in Denver on Friday night.

    Colorado and Edmonton each have 45 points, only two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the crowded West. With three games remaining between the these Northwest Division rivals, the series winner could have an edge over the other in the obtaining one of the final playoff spots.

    For now, the Avalanche (22-21-1) appear to be in better position having won two of the three meetings between the teams this season while dominating the Oilers at home of late. Colorado has outscored Edmonton 22-11 in winning its last five home games in the series.

    The Avalanche's upcoming eight-game stay - which spans 21 days including the NHL All-Star break - is the second longest in franchise history behind a nine-game homestand wrapped around the Olympic break in 2001-02. Five of the eight contests come against teams ahead of the Avalanche in the conference standings.

    Colorado is 13-8-0 at home and looking for a third consecutive victory at the Pepsi Center on Friday.

    In order to benefit, however, Colorado must play better than it did in a 5-2 loss at St. Louis on Thursday. Milan Hejduk and Cody McLeod scored as the Avalanche dropped their second straight contest after winning three in a row.

    Peter Budaj made 21 saves in his first start since Jan. 4 to drop his fourth in a row while allowing 15 goals during the skid. Though Budaj is 11-3-2 with a 2.44 goals-against average versus the Oilers, Andrew Raycroft could be back in net after sitting out Thursday's game with a minor calf injury

    Raycroft is 9-2-0 with a 2.70 GAA on the season and has allowed 10 goals in posting a 2-1-0 career recorded versus the Oilers.

    Hejduk has a goal and four assists in his last five games. He and teammate Ryan Smyth are each a goal shy of 300 for their careers.

    Hejduk has three goals in his last five contests against Edmonton while the longtime Oiler Smyth scored in the Avalanche's 3-2 shootout win over his former team on Nov. 15 in the teams' most recent meeting.

    Edmonton (21-19-3) enters this contest looking to bounce back from a 5-1 loss at Minnesota on Thursday. Liam Reddox scored for the Oilers, who had allowed three goals in winning their previous two games.

    "Outside of the heinous defensive breakdowns and lapses on some of the plays, we played pretty good," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "And we battled hard. It was as hard as we've competed in a while."

    Dwayne Roloson made just 19 saves in falling to 13-9-3 against Minnesota, and took the loss in the last meeting with the Avalanche.

    Mathieu Garon, though, could be in net in this back-to-back situation. He is 5-4-0 with a 3.28 GAA against Colorado.

    Dustin Penner recorded an assist Thursday for his first point in six games. He has two goals against the Avalanche this season.




     
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