“Obviously not the way we want to play hockey,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said post-game. “I think we were all pretty happy with our first period. I thought we were skating well and created a lot of chances, and then they get that second one and we completely go off script and that's just not our game.
“That's not how we're going to win at any point in the season, especially with nine games left against one of the best teams in the league, so it's disappointing. But we’ve got a couple of weeks to figure that out and make sure that doesn't happen again. This should be a good learning lesson for us.”
Friday’s tilt against another powerhouse from the Central in the Avalanche will be the first of back-to-back games for the Oilers this weekend that wrap up on Saturday night with the Battle of Alberta against the Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
It’s the first of three back-to-backs for the Oilers over their final eight games of the regular season, which will be played over the next 14 days. The Avalanche will be their opponent for two of those games as they'll wrap up their season series on Apr. 18 in the last game of the regular season, along with challenging contests with Vancouver and Vegas still left on the docket to test their playoff mettle against playoff-calibre opposition.