Game Preview: Avalanche at Oilers

The Colorado Avalanche complete their final road back-to-back set of the season tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. MT.
Colorado notched its fifth-straight win and extended its point streak to seven games (6-0-1) in last night's overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets. Cale Makar scored the game-winning goal on the power play in overtime plus an assist.

Including Makar, five Avalanche players tallied two points: Nathan MacKinnon (1G, 1A), Mikko Rantanen (2A), Andre Burakovsky (1G, 1A), and Alex Newhook (2A) all contributed with multi-point games. Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Erik Johnson also scored in regulation, while Pavel Francouz made 39 saves on 43 shots.
Following the conclusion of the back-to-back, the Avs rest for a few days before starting another back-to-back at home, facing first the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night followed by hosting the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

Avalanche at Oilers

Rogers Place | Edmonton
| Game Time: | 8:00 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | ALT, SNE blackouts apply | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5/AM 950 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | AltitudeNow.com, Official app, ESPN+- blackouts apply | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-EDMONTON CONNECTIONS

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar is from Alberta and played for the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League from 2014-2017… Colorado assistant coach Nolan Pratt is from Fort McMurray, Alberta, and spent part of his childhood in Edmonton... Avs assistant Coach Ray Bennett is from Innisfail, Alberta... Edmonton has two former Avs on its current roster in Tyson Barrie (2011-19) and Derick Brassard (2018-19).

HISTORY

Colorado holds a 79-75-13 record against Edmonton all-time, including a 67-45-11 mark since moving to Colorado in 1995.
This will be the second matchup between the two teams this season, with the final meeting occurring on April 22.

ROSTER REPORT

Defenseman Bowen Byram, who until this week had not played for the Avalanche since Jan. 10, tallied his first points since returning against Winnipeg, lending an assist in the 5-4 overtime win.

INJURY REPORT

Captain Gabriel Landeskog remains out after undergoing knee surgery. Nazem Kadri is sidelined, but "coming along, feeling better," according to Head Coach Jared Bednar. Samuel Girard continues to rehab an injury but is getting closer to action. Ryan Murray remains out on a week-to-week basis.

SCOUTING THE OILERS

Edmonton currently owns a six-game winning streak, having played three games on the road and three at home over that span. The Oilers are second in the Pacific Division, six points (89) behind the first-place Calgary (95), with a 42-25-5 overall record.
The Oilers rank fourth in the league in power play percentage (25.7%) and 21st in the league in penalty kill (77.5%).

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: Leon Draisaitl

Center Leon Draisaitl is the second leader in points on the Oilers behind only Connor McDavid (108), who leads the entirety of the NHL in scoring. Draisaitl ranks third in the league in total points, with 101 (50G, 51A) this season.

NUMBERS GAME

6
Cale Makar has scored his sixth game-winning goal of the year, tying Victor Hedman for the lead among NHL defensemen and is one shy of the single-season franchise record.
51
The Avs are one game away from tying their most wins through one season in franchise history (52 wins) which they accomplished in both the 2013-14 and 2000-01 campaigns.
20
Andre Burakovsky has tied his career high for goals in a season with 20. He is also the sixth Avalanche skater to reach 20-goal mark this season.

NOTEBOOK

The Colorado Avalanche have improved to 12-4-1 in back-to-backs and 6-3-0 on the first game of a back-to-back... Cale Makar has posted 52 assists this season, tying Ray Bourque for the second most assists by a defenseman in Avalanche history... Nicolas Aube-Kubel notched his ninth goal of the season, extending his career-best in both goals and points (17). He has tallied two goals in Colorado's last three contests... MacKinnon tallied his 25th goal of the season and now has three goals in his last two games... In addition to his goal, Burakovsky extended his point streak to four games where he's totaled six points (2G, 4A) in that span.