EDMONTON, AB - From the thick of a second-round Battle of Alberta into the thin air of a Western Conference Final.
The Edmonton Oilers took to the ice for a full skate on Sunday morning at Rogers Place before boarding a team flight to Denver in advance of the start of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.
The Oilers will arrive in Denver two days prior to their scheduled start to Game 1 on Tuesday at 6:00pm MT to allow extra time to acclimatize to the altitude in the Mile High City, where home-ice advantage for the Avalanche is felt more physically than anywhere else in the National Hockey League at 1,609 metres above sea level.
"I remember my first time playing there and hearing about it. Quickly, I found out it's pretty accurate," forward Evander Kane said. "It does take a little bit of time to get adjusted to, but that might've just been because it was my first game there. You feel it a little bit. I think it's important to have short shifts, especially in the first period, to get things going. But we'll be there a couple of days early and that shouldn't be an issue."
BLOG: Sunday's travel day to Denver
The Oilers practiced before the team departed for Denver in advance of Tuesday's start to the Western Conference Final