COLORADO AVALANCHE (49-25-7) AT EDMONTON OILERS (49-26-6)
7:30 PM MDT | BALL ARENA | WATCH: ESPN | LISTEN: 92.5 FM
The Avalanche will host the Oilers on Thursday to wrap up the 2023-24 regular season. Colorado is 6-3-1 in its past 10 home contests. The Avs have recorded 105 points this season and have recorded the fourth-most points of any Western Conference team. The Oilers are 4-2-1 in their past six contests. Edmonton will finish second in the Pacific Division this season and have not finished below second place in the Pacific Division since the 2018-19 season.
Latest Results:
April 14, 2024 VGK: 4 COL: 3 (OT)
April 17, 2024 ARI: 5 EDM: 2
STOPPED IN SIN CITY
Colorado was bested in overtime by Vegas 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. It was the Avs’ final road game of the 2023-24 season. The Avalanche took a 2-0 lead in the first period when Ross Colton and Cale Makar found the back of the net. Mikko Rantanen tallied his 41st goal of the season in the middle frame to give Colorado a 3-0 lead going into the second intermission. The Golden Knights rattled off three-straight in the third period when Ivan Barbashev lit the lamp and William Karlsson potted a pair (one on the power play) to send the game to overtime. Tomas Hertl scored the overtime game-winning goal on the power play.
AVS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Nathan MacKinnon recorded an assist and has collected 138 points (51g/87a) this season. He is one point shy of tying Peter Stastny (1981-82) for the most points in a campaign in Avalanche/Nordiques history. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native has registered 87 assists this season, surpassing Peter Forsberg (1995-96) for the second-most helpers in a campaign in franchise history.
MacKinnon’s assist was his 91st point at even strength in 2023-24. That is a franchise record and marks the most points at even strength recorded in a season since Jaromir Jagr collected 95 in 1995-96.
Cale Makar recorded 1g/1a to boost his season scoring line to 21g/68a in 2023-24, ranking second among league defensemen in goals, assists and points. Makar’s 21 goals share the third-most by a defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques history.
Mikko Rantanen found the back of the net and has collected 103 points (41g/62a) this season, two shy of his career-high set in 2022-23.
Ross Colton potted his 17th goal of 2023-24 to surpass his total from last season. He has collected 39 points (17g/22a) in 2023-24, tying his career high set in 2021-22 with Tampa Bay.
Alexandar Georgiev appeared in his 63rd game of 2023-24, surpassing his career-high set last season.
HISTORY
The Avalanche/Nordiques own a 83-77-8-6 all-time record against the Oilers, with a 45-36-4-2 mark at home. Colorado is 8-4-1 in its last 13 matchups with Edmonton. The Avs split the two contests this season with the Oilers, with both games being played in Edmonton. During the Avs’ Stanley Cup winning run in 2021-22, they defeated the Oilers four games to none in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the Stanley Cup final.
AGONY IN ARIZONA
Edmonton fell to Arizona last night 5-2 at Mullett Arena. The Oilers have dropped three of their past four road contests. Liam O’Brien opened the scoring early in the first period. The Oilers responded when Sam Carrick found the back of the net to tie the game going into the first intermission. Matias Maccelli roofed a backhand on a breakaway to give Arizona the lead in the middle frame. Arizona added to their lead when Lawson Crouse lit the lamp. The Oilers cut into the lead when Warren Foegele wired a wrist shot past Connor Ingram, but the Coyotes answered back with a power-play goal from Dylan Guenther. Sean Durzi sealed the 5-2 victory for the Yotes with an empty-net goal.
STATS TO KNOW
Artturi Lehkonen leads the Avs with three points (1g/2a) in the regular season series against the Oilers. That includes the overtime winner with one second remaining on March 16.
Nathan MacKinnon has averaged over a point per-game in his career against Edmonton. He has recorded 27 points (8g/19a) in 24 matchups with the Oilers.
Cale Makar has registered a plus-minus rating of +6 in only eight career games against Edmonton.
OUTSTANDING OILERS
Connor McDavid ranks fourth in NHL history among all skaters in points per-game averaging 1.52 PPG.
Leon Draisaitl has tallied the second-most power-play goals in the NHL this season with 21 PPG.
The Oilers power play has operated at 26.4% this campaign. That is the fourth-best power-play conversion rate in the NHL.
NUMBERS GAME
768
MacKinnon (145g/257a/402p) and Rantanen (162g/204a/366p) have recorded the third and fifth-most points of any NHL skater since the 2020-21 season.
297
The Avalanche have recorded the second-most goals of any club this season with 297.
90
Cale Makar is one point shy of reaching the 90-point benchmark for the first time in his career.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“We want to rack up some wins before the end of the season. There is only one game left, I think we can take a lot of good things out of the first period. We were playing really good in the first, so we have to try to play like that consistently.”
- Colorado LW Mikko Rantanen on Sunday's Game
