BOSTON PIZZA GAME PREVIEW
Saturday, 26 November 2011
FINAL
2 - 5
FINAL 1 2 3 T
Oilers 1 1 0 2
Avalanche 1 0 4 5
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GOAL SCORERS

EDM:   L. Smid (02:59 - 1st) , R. Jones (02:24 - 2nd)
COL:   J. McClement (04:35 - 1st) , S. O'Brien (PPG, 06:06 - 3rd) , S. Elliott (08:03 - 3rd) , J. Hejda (16:19 - 3rd) , P. Stastny (EN, 18:07 - 3rd)
GOALIES

EDM: D. Dubnyk (L)
 COL: S. Varlamov (W)
Oilers (12-8-2) at Avalanche (9-12-1)
TV: CBC (HD)
RADIO: 630 CHED & Oilers Radio Network
PUCK DROP: 5:10 p.m. MST
OILERS at AVALANCHE - GET THE SCOOP


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YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
IN FOCUS - Oilers pre-game interviews
Bob Stauffer & Jack Michaels preview the game
FRIDAY'S POST-GAME VIDEO
Watch the Highlights
IN FOCUS - Oilers post-game interviews with Shawn Horcoff, Taylor Hall, Darcy Hordichuk & Tom Renney
THE OTHER SIDE - Wild post-game interviews with Josh Harding, Brad Staubitz, Justin Falk & Mike Yeo
RAW - Tom Renney post-game
OIL GAUGE - Watch the Oilers' goals
AUDIO
Tom Renney
Ryan Whitney
Taylor Hall
GET THE NUMBERS
Game Notes
Stats Comparison
Head-to-Head
MORE INFORMATION
View Oilers Line Combinations
Injury Report
Play Oilers Fantasy Hockey
NHL.com Preview
STATS
22 GP 22
12 W 9
8 L 12
2 OT 1
26 P 19
0.591 P% 0.432
2.77 G/G 2.41
2.32 GA/G 3.09
22.2 PP% 24.3
86.0 PK% 78.4
25.7 S/G 33.1
29.5 SA/G 28.5
47.3 FO% 52.3
DATE VIS/HOME FINAL
Oct 28, 2011 EDM @ COL EDM, 3 - 1
The Edmonton Oilers wrap up a four-game road trip today at the Pepsi Center against the Colorado Avalanche with an opportunity to come away with an ultra-successful 3-1-0 road trip.

The Avs have only won one of their last six games and have only two wins in their last 11 but they're a team, head coach Tom Renney cautions, that shouldn't be taken lightly.

"We were a team too that lost four in a row. I think we're a better team than losing four in a row and I think Joe (Sacco) and his squad here might think they're a better team than their record shows as well," said Renney. "That's a great opportunity for any team to sort of right theirselves. And I think Colorado will be looking at us that way tonight."

Renney also stated that Lennart Petrell will likely draw out in favour of Magnus Paajarvi.

Devan Dubnyk gets the start in goal.

PLANTE RETURNS

This morning, Alex Plante was recalled from Oklahoma City due to concerns about Jeff Petry's ability to play.

"We have Jeff Petry a little under the weather. We're not completely sure if he'll be out tonight but as a precaution we've got Alex coming in to help us," said Renney.

Plante played last night in Oklahoma City's 5-4 win in Grand Rapids. He was +1 in the victory. He was just sent down following the Oilers' game in Nashville on Tuesday.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION

The Oilers have been on a roll of late offensively. With three wins in their last four games, they have a total of 20 goals in those victories. The team's top two lines -- Taylor Hall with Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff plus Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with Ryan Smyth and Jordan Eberle -- have both been firing on all cylinders.

"It's a good feeling," Hall said about the team's success, most notably last night in Minnesota. "I don't know if we were dominating them but we were playing a really good 60-minute game."

Hall started the season with Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle but has found a home on his new line.

"It's always fun playing with Ales, he's so creative, and Shawn is so good on draws and good in his own end. It's really fun playing with those guys."

FINISH STRONG

The Oilers have won two of the first three on the trip and defenceman Tom Gilbert was quick to point out the importance of tonight's game, in particular because the team will follow this one up with six straight on home ice.

"First and foremost, this is a divisional game. We've had a little bit of bad luck with divisional teams so far but we'd like to change the way we play teams within our division," Gilbert began. 

"It would be nice to continue this winning streak. Just to be able to keep playing the same way we have been playing would be great, especially going into the six-game homestand."

The Oilers' road record is now 5-6-1 with the chance to get back to the .500 level away from Rexall Place. Edmonton's record against Northwest Division opponents improved to 3-2-2 after last night's win (victories against Vancouver, Minnesota and Colorado). The Avalanche have struggled within their division this season, going 0-6-0.

-- Marc Ciampa, edmontonoilers.com

NHL.COM GAME PREVIEW

Last 10: Edmonton 4-6-0, Colorado 2-7-1

Season Series: This is the second meeting of six between the Avalanche and Oilers this season. In their first contest on Oct. 28, Edmonton prevailed, 3-1. In six meetings last year they split the season series, 3-3.

Big Story: Colorado looks to turn around its struggles at home as the Avalanche play host to the red-hot Oilers on Saturday.

Team Scope:

Edmonton: The Oilers snapped a 17-game winless streak at the Xcel Energy Center with a 5-2 win over the Wild on Friday, picking up two points against the Northwest Division leader. Five different Oilers recorded two-point performances in the victory, including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who notched a pair of goals.

"We're really proud of this win, we thought we played really well from start to finish," second-year forward Taylor Hall said. "We did all the little things from start to finish and we closed out a game which is a huge feat, especially against a team that is at the top of the conference, so we're feeling very good right now."

This victory comes after 6-2 win over the Predators on Tuesday and puts the Oilers in sixth in the Western Conference and second in the Northwest Division despite a brief four-game skid that slowed them down earlier in the month.

Colorado: Things are looking dim in Colorado as the Avalanche continue to struggle to win at home and are in the midst of a season-long eight-game homestand. This struggle was emphasized on Wednesday night when Colorado was shut out by division rival Vancouver, 3-0.

Although the Avalanche continually outshoot their opponents in every game, they have struggled to convert on scoring chances, have been shut out three times this season and are 1-5 in their last five games.

"We're on home ice; it should be easy for us to play on this ice," center Paul Stastny said. "We're well rested and I don't think there are any distractions. We can't score goals. The frustrations are pretty high. We have to find a way. We have to look at ourselves, everyone, and play for the guy next to each other and find a way to get goals."

Perhaps Colorado will receive a spark from some new line combinations as Matt Duchene skated on a line with Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk in Friday's practice.

Who's Hot: Nugent-Hopkins continues to live up to the hype as the rookie has notched 10 points (3G-7A) in just four games.

Injury Report: Edmonton is missing Cam Barker (ankle), Andy Sutton (groin), and Corey Potter (ankle). ... In Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson is sidelined with a groin injury while wingers Mark Olver (head) and Peter Mueller (concussion) have been on injured reserve since early October.

Stat Pack: The Avs' Chuck Kobasew is just one goal shy of his 100th career goal.

Puck Drop: "I'll continue to tweak things to try and find the right (combinations)," Joe Sacco told the Denver Post, "but after a while you can only change so much. ... Sooner or later, you have to go out and you have to do it."

-- Deborah Francisco, NHL.com
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