Game 1 Preview: Avalanche vs. Oilers

GAME 1 WCF: COLORADO AVALANCHE (0-0) VS EDMONTON OILERS (0-0)
6:00 PM MT | BALL ARENA WATCH: ALTITUDE | TNTLISTEN: 92.5 AM
The title of best in the west comes down to the matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers as the two clubs clash in the Western Conference Final (WCF) beginning with Game 1 in Denver on Tuesday night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT.

The Avalanche reached the WCF for the first time in 20 years after advancing past the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the Second Round. Edmonton reached its first WCF since 2006.

RECAP OF REGULAR SEASON AVS-OILERS:

The Avalanche posted a 2-1-0 record during their three-game regular season series against the Oilers.
MacKinnon paced the Avalanche during the regular season meetings against the Oilers with five points (3G, 2A).
Valeri Nichushkin
posted four points (2G, 2A) through the three games.
For Edmonton, Evander Kane recorded the most points with five (4G, 1A), including a hat trick. Kailer Yamamoto was the next highest with four points (2G, 2A), and Connor McDavid handed out four assists, but neither McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl scored against the Avalanche in the regular season.
In net,
Darcy Kuemper
started in all three games for the Avalanche and posted a 2-1-0 record , a .921 SV% and a 2.62 GAA.
For the Oilers, Mike Smith made two starts and recorded a 1-0-1 record, a .912 SV%, and a 2.99 GAA. Mikko Koskinen made one start and finished with a 1-0-0 record, a .971 SV%, and a 0.92 GAA.
In the regular season meetings, Colorado was 2-for-13 on the power play (15.4%) and finished with a perfect 6-for-6 execution on the penalty kill. For the Oilers, their penalty kill was 11-for-13 (84.6%).

STATS BREAKDOWN:(based off regular season meetings)

Avalanche:
Goals For: 7
Goals Against: 9
AVALANCHE VS OILERS
AVALANCHE ARTICLES
Avalanche Western Conference Final Preview
Western Conference Final Schedule
Photos of Colorado's Second Round on Film
Avalanche 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs Media Guide
GAME EXTRAS
Avalanche Stanley Cup Playoffs Hub
Avalanche 360
Avalanche Ticket
Power Play (in series): 15.4%
Penalty kill (in series): 100%
FOW%: 42.9%
Hits: 63
Blocks: 49
Shots: 102
Oilers:
Goals For: 9
Goals Against: 7
Power Play (in series): 00.0
Penalty kill (in series): 84.6%
FOW%: 57.1%
Hits: 86
Blocks: 47
Shots: 102
NOTEWORTHY:
In the Second Round, Colorado benefited from having 17-of-21 skaters recorded at least a point. Fourteen of those 17 skaters recorded multi-point efforts…
Nazem Kadri
(4G, 3A) and Nathan MacKinnon (3G, 4A) paced the team with seven points each against St. Louis, but Kadri led the way in goals with four… MacKinnon (8G, 5A) and
Cale Makar
(3G, 10A) are leading the way with 13 points each… Kuemper played the entirety of the series against the Blues. The Avalanche netminder made a total of 140 saves on 157 shots, recorded a 2.77 GAA, and a .892 SV%... The Avalanche have also received game-winning goals from eight different skaters.