PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Avalanche (Game 4)

The Edmonton Oilers look to stave off elimination in the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Place on Monday night.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet and CBC or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Video: OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 4 vs COL 06.06.22

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VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Monday's game on Sportsnet or CBC at 6:00 PM MT.
News and notes from Oilers practice at Rogers Place on Sunday.
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EDMONTON, AB - One win to keep your season alive.
The Edmonton Oilers will play with their post-season aspirations on the line for the second time this post-season, down 3-0 in this third-round series with the Colorado Avalanche in need of a victory at Rogers Place in Game 4 on Monday night to extend this Western Conference Final to a Game 5 in Denver on Wednesday night.
"We have to play the best game we've played all year," defenceman Tyson Barrie said. "We have nothing to lose, we have nothing to save it for."
The Oilers staved off elimination in the first round after being down 3-2 in their series to the Los Angeles Kings before extinguishing the Calgary Flames in Game 5 of the second round with their provincial rivals facing their own elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"We've faced two elimination games in our first-round series against Los Angeles and we had an elimination game against Calgary. We performed well in those games," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "When you face what we've faced, but have the mindset that we have, I think it serves you well.
Over this post-season, Edmonton is 3-0 in elimination games and will now have to win four straight to dig their way out of the Avalanche and into the Stanley Cup Final.
"We're playing a team that can make you pay if you're playing too loose," Barrie said. "Our backs are against the wall, we have a good group of guys in there and we'll come out with everything we have tonight."
The best from the Oilers, according to the players and coaches in the dressing room, hasn't been seen yet in this series. But a full 60 minutes encapsulating their best will be needed on Monday night on home ice to send this series back to Ball Arena in the Mile High City later this week.
Video: PRE-RAW | Tyson Barrie, Leon Draisaitl 06.06.22
"I don't think we've seen our best," Barrie said. "We were good last game, it was one that we could have had, but no I think there's been games throughout this playoff and the season where we felt really good about how we played for a full 60 minutes. I don't think we've seen that out of us yet this series, we got to try and find that tonight."
While the pressure will be felt on Edmonton to extend their series, The Oilers know they'll have nothing to lose while there's added expectation on the visitors to take care of business and close out the series.
"We know where the pressure is in this game," Barrie added. "It's not on the team that is going to play loose and is going to drive -- it's on the team that is going to try and close someone out."
SIMPLE APPROACH TO ADVERSITY
Despite the enormity of the moment, Edmonton's picture remains as small as it has for the entirety of Coach Woodcroft's head-coaching tenure with the Oilers.
"That happens when it's been drilled into you for months," Woodcroft said. "That is our approach, that we are keeping our picture small and we're controlling what we can control and we're excited to take care of the day's business."
Since February 11 when Woodcroft came up from Bakersfield with Assistant Coach Dave Manson, the Oilers have been focused on winning one hockey game before thinking about the next.
The team celebrates a win for a few brief moments before turning the pace the next day, much in the same vein as they did on Sunday afternoon when they returned to the rink and regrouped after a 4-2 defeat in Game 3 that pushed them to the brink in this Western Conference Final. Whether a win or a loss, the group would arrive back at the rink for the next practice with something to chew on and digest from the previous contest in hopes of being that much better.
When you've been doing it for months, the approach becomes routine -- even in the post-season where your playoff life can come down to one game.
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 06.06.22
"We walked in here, Dave Manson and I, and joined with the other coaches," Woodcroft recalled. "I remember walking into that initial coaches' meeting and listening, first of all, then saying we just have to win one hockey game. You win one hockey game then things take care of themselves.
"You talk about compartmentalizing -- that is chucking things down and breaking them down in pieces. When you have that ability, which has been ingrained in this team since February 11, you feel good about your options."
The simple and consistent approach the Oilers have employed all season strengthens their confidence in their approach towards the biggest game of their season on a stage the blub hasn't been on since 2006.
"We're the ones playing the game, you guys can roll your eyes all you want," Barrie said. "We're going to go and have our pre-game meal and prepare like we do for every game. You don't play four in a row, you play one at a time."
"For us it's the simple fact of what we've been doing all year. We'll come in prepared to win one game tonight. We know what we're up against. If you look at the statistics it's bleak, but the only way to do it is the way we've been doing it which is one game at a time."
LINEUP NOTES
The Oilers will be without the services of Evander Kane in the lineup tonight after the forward was handed a one-game suspension for boarding Colorado's Nazem Kadri in Game 3 on Saturday.
"Next man up mentality," forward Leon Draisaitl said. "We have enough great players on our team and on our roster that can fill in and will come in with energy and do a great job tonight. I'm not too worried."
Among the available players for Woodcroft to select to replace Kane in the lineup is forward Dylan Holloway, who could slot in and make his NHL debut in an elimination scenario in the Western Conference Final.
"I think we have a lot of really good players available to us," Woodcroft said. "Broberg is a good example of a young player that has a lot to offer and is healthy and available to us. Dylan Holloway is healthy and available to us. We have a lot of good veterans who are available to us, all of whom have put in the necessary work to be ready should they get tapped on the shoulder.
"What I like about that group, I've used the term that I'm bullish, is that they're a great group of teammates. They are as happy if the team wins if they're not in the lineup as if they were in the lineup. We have a lot of really good people to choose from, we're going to make the right choice tonight."
Woodcroft confirmed Mike Smith as Edmonton's Game 4 starter, along with the news that Kailer Yamamoto is once again not fit for action after taking a high hit from Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog in Game 2.
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS vs. AVALANCHE
STREAM: 6:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet and CBC
Oilers Team Scope
It always begins with the first one.
The Oilers will look to achieve a monumental comeback in the Western Conference Final against the Avalanche, starting with Game 4 on Monday at Rogers Place.
For all the skill and speed on display in the game can be cruel when you're at the whims of an oddly shaped rubber biscuit. The Oilers found that out the hard way in Game 3, with a trio of bad bounces resulting in Colorado's first three goals.
"I thought it was a competitive hockey game," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said on Saturday night. "Some of the goals that went in against us - one goes in off our stick, one goes in off a blocked shot that landed on someone's tape and another where a player comes out of the box after we hit a post. Those are tough ones, but our team competed to the very end."
Down 3-0 in the series, the Oilers will need the puck luck to bounce in their favour. Only four teams have come back to win a playoff series while down 3-0, with none of those comebacks coming in the Conference Final.
The Oilers will be without the playoffs leading goal scorer in Evander Kane who was suspended for Game 4 after his boarding penalty on Nazem Kadri injured the Avs forward. The loss of Kane means the Oilers will be without two of their top-six wingers, with Yamamoto likely out after leaving Game 2 due to a blindside hit by Gabriel Landeskog.
The Oilers will still have the playoffs top two scorers on Monday night in Connor McDavid and Leon Drasaitl, who currently have 30 and 28 points apiece, to help pace the offence. Edmonton has only scored three goals in the last two games after averaging well over four per game in their previous 13 contests.
Avalanche Team Scope
So far in the series, the Avalanche have shown they are the buzzsaw of elite speed and skill they were touted to be.
Coming into Game 4 of the Western Conference Final, Colorado has only dropped two of their 13 playoff contests - sporting an 11-2 record and a post-season best plus-24 goal differential.
After losing Darcy Kemper in the first game of the series, Pavel Fancouz has come in and stonewalled the Oilers attack, allowing five goals on 74 shots over two and a half games.
The Avalanche attack has been buoyed by a depth of scoring throughout the line-up with five players averaging over a point per game in the playoffs - those being Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, and Nazem Kadri.
Colorado will be without the aforementioned Kadri for the remainder of the series after the forward was injured by a check from Evander Kane. Despite the loss of Kadri's 14 points in 13 games, the Avalanche have plenty of firepower to go around with players like Valeri Nichushkin, JT Compher. Arturri Lehkonen, and Andrew Cogliano combining for seven goals in the first three games.
A win on Monday would give the Avalanche their first Stanley Cup Final berth since the 2000-2001 season and the third trip in franchise history.
By The Numbers
Connor McDavid's Game 3 opening tally was the fastest goal in Oilers Conference Final history at 38 seconds… McDavid is the first player to reach the 30 point plateau in the NHL playoffs… McDavid became the 4th fastest player to reach 30 points in the playoffs, trailing Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Mark Messier… McDavid is one of eight players to score 30 points in a post-season prior to the Stanley Cup Final… Edmonton is 18-3-1 in their last 22 home games…
Teams that hold a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are 198-4 in the playoffs all-time… The Avalanche are 6-0 when leading 3-0 in a series and 12-2 when leading 3-1… Colorado has seen a playoff-high 50 points scored by defencemen… Colorado is 6-1 during the playoffs when trailing first… Game 3 was the first time in seven games Nathan MacKinnon was held without a goal against the Oilers… the 2022 Avalanche are one of six teams to have two goalies record five or more wins in a single post-season…
Injury Report
OILERS - Kyle Turris (undisclosed) is on IR; Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR, Kailer Yamamoto (upper body) is day-to-day.
AVALANCHE - Samuel Girard (fractured sternum) is out for the remainder of the playoffs; Ryan Murray (fractured hand) is day-to-day; Darcy Kuemper (upper-body injury) is day-to-day, Nazem Kadri (upper-body) is out for the remainder of the series.
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com