Edmonton Oilers right winger Dustin Penner, left, loses control of the puck as Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny defends in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Denver on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Last 10 -- Colorado 5-4-1; Edmonton 2-6-2

Season series -- This is the third meeting of the season between the Oilers and Avalanche. Colorado won the first one 3-0 at Rexall Place. The Oilers defeated the Avs 5-3 a week from Sunday at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Ryan Potulny had a goal and an assist in that game. 

Big story -- Having played well in the first two months of the season, the Colorado Avalanche are still leading the Northwest Division with 29 points (13W – 5L – 3OT) and are currently second in the Western Conference behind the San Jose Sharks. The Oilers have 8 wins and 19 points, including a 5-3 victory when they last visited Colorado. Fighting for those crucial 2 points, expect the Oilers to come out strong in the first game of their five game homestand.

Team Scope:

Oilers -- Oilers forward Patrick O’Sullivan is having a good season so far with 12 points (3 goals and 9 assists) under his belt. With one game winning goal and 4 points in the past five games, O’Sullivan is the third leading scorer among Oilers.

After recovering from a mild concussion which left him out for 10 games, Oilers defenceman Steve Staios has contributed offensively since returning to the ice on November 5th. This blueliner earned 4 assists in five games and currently has a +5.

Avalanche -- Forward Paul Stastny has captured 5 points in his last five games. Playing his fifth season with the Avalanche, Stastny is also leading his teammates for points and assists including one game- winning goal. (4-14-18).

With 16 points (9 goals and 7 assists) to his name, left winger Wojtek Wolski has made a significant contribution to the Avalanche’s offense. Last season, Wolski led all NHL players in shootout goals (10-of-12) and is currently leading the Avalanche in regulation goals (9).

Who's hot -- Lubomir Visnovsky has five points in his last seven games (2g, 3a) for the Oilers. ... Ales Hemsky has four points (1g, 3a) in his last five outings. 

Paul Stastny has seven points (all assists) in his last seven games. ... Marek Svatos has five points in his last seven. Milan Hejduk has three goals and four points in his last five.

Injury report -- Edmonton's injury list continues to be a large one. The Oilers have eight players on the shelf, including Robert Nilsson (concussion), Fernando Pisani (colitis), Sam Gagner (lower body), Taylor Chorney (ankle), J-F Jacques (back), Ryan Stone (knee), Marc Pouliot (sports hernia) and Denis Grebeshkov (knee).

Defenceman John-Michael Liles (shoulder) and forward T.J. Galiardi (ankle) are traveling with the Avalanche and could return tonight.

Stat pack -- The Oilers and Avalanche rank 26th and 25th in the NHL respectively in shots against. Edmonton allows an average of 33.2 shots against per game while Colorado allows 33.0.

Puck drop -- Neither team has been playing well, and both are struggling offensively. Expect both teams to try to push the tempo -- a tactic that worked for each during their early-season hot streaks and that neither has been able to do in the past week or two.