PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Avalanche

The Edmonton Oilers return home following a perfect three-game road trip to take on the league-leading Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Place on Saturday night.
The Oilers are looking to continue their strong run of play, having won their last six games in a row and their last nine games on home ice.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet West & Hockey Night in Canada or listen on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Video: OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game vs COL 04.09.22

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game vs. COL
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Keith
PRE-GAME RAW | Hyman
RECENT VIDEOS
OILERS TODAY | Post-Game at LAK
POST-RAW | Coach Woodcroft 04.07.22
POST-RAW | Evan Bouchard 04.07.22
HIGHLIGHTS | EDM 3, LAK 2
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Avalanche Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
GAME RECAP | Oilers 3, Kings 2
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VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Saturday's game on Sportsnet West & Hockey Night in Canada at 8:00 PM MT.
News and notes from the Oilers organization, including Noah Philp signing a one-year contract with the club on Tuesday after a standout three seasons with the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
**>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG**
EDMONTON, AB -To be the best, you got to beat the best, and that is the task at hand for the Oilers as they welcome the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche to Rogers Place on Saturday night.
The Oilers went toe-to-toe with the Western Conference leaders back on March 24 in a game where Edmonton took them to the limit in a 3-2 overtime loss in Colorado. Oilers forward Zach Hyman knows how difficult it can be to play a team that features so much firepower and depth throughout the lineup.
"We saw it when we went there and played them. It was a heck of a game," Hyman said. "The quality of the opponent, you have some players that are elite and some of the best in the league. Overall, they have a ton of depth on forward and defence. They're just an extremely well-rounded team and it shows in the standings."
The Oilers and the Avs are both coming in hot for the Hockey Night in Canada matchup. Edmonton is riding a six-game winning streak and a nine-game home winning streak, while Colorado are currently winners of five straight.
Head Coach Jay Woodcroft believes that both the team's performance in their last matchup and the competition at hand is enough to stoke the fires needed to take on the NHL's best.
"All you got to do is look at the NHL standings for motivation for tonight's game," Woodcroft said. "I think that game in Colorado was two teams that pushed each other to the brink.
"In that game they scored two power-play goals, we found a way to find some offence. We did a lot of good things in the game, but that was a few weeks ago and our focus and concentration is on this team that's coming in winning five in a row."
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 04.09.22
BOUCHARD BLOSSOMS
Evan Bouchard is coming off one of his best games as a pro in the Oilers 3-2 win over Los Angeles on Thursday. Bouchard finished the game with the game-winning goal and a pair of assists for his first career three-point game. While his offensive repertoire has never been in question, it's his contributions on the defensive side that have caught his coach and his teammates' eye.
"If you're an offensive defenseman getting hemmed in your own end, there isn't much good to it," Hyman said. "I think for any young player, you see ups-and-downs in the season. You're seeing the best version of Bouch and when he plays like that, he's a game changer."
"I think right from day one, we've seen he's someone that can make a first pass, he's somebody that gets his shot through from the point," Woodcroft said. "The top players always want to play with him because he puts it on their tape. Those are all on the offensive side of things, but I think he's put in a lot of work over these last couple of months on trying to work on the defensive details in his game and we're seeing some improvement there as well."
Generating offence from defence was on full display in that stellar performance against the Kings. McDavid's opening goal in Los Angeles was a direct result of Bouchard intercepting a Phillip Danault pass and turning the play back towards the Kings goal. The same can be said about the Oilers second goal, where Bouchard picked off a Viktor Arvidsson dump-in and sent Derek Ryan in on the attack, leading to Warren Foegele's tally.
Video: PRE-RAW | Duncan Keith 04.09.22
To help Bouchard's development he's been attached at the hip of former Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith as of late. The 38-year-old has a breadth of experience for the young defenseman to draw on and it has helped specifically in communicating as a pairing.
"I think just in general we try to communicate a lot about the defensive side of things -- whether that's getting back for pucks or having a good gap, and just focusing on things like predictability in the defensive side of things," Keith said about his mentorship role. "I think with him, his offensive ability, it can kind of come from being good defensively."
The willingness to communicate and correct was a key factor in Woodcroft's decision to unite the duo.
"Duncan's not a wallflower, he's not just going to sit in the background and not let his opinion be heard," Woodcroft said. "He almost serves as a conduit of the coaching staff on the back end because he has opinions and experiences, and I think that helps Bouch."
CONFIDENCE ABOUND
When things are going well, success seems to come easy.
The Oilers have fought through their mid-season adversity to become one of the hottest teams down the stretch with a 12-2-1 record over their last 15 games. The focus on the process resulting in success has allowed a quiet confidence to spread through the team.
"I would say our players have put the work in to feel confident," Woodcroft said. "Saying that, I think we're a humble group. We're not putting too much emphasis on things that have happened before. Our focus and attention is on trying to improve a little bit each day and having that mindset and being humble serves individuals and serves teams well."
That confidence has been a boon for the young players, especially the aforementioned Bouchard.
I think he's playing really confident," Hyman said. "When he's with the puck he's able to make a ton of plays. He's and a good passer and obviously you've seen how good a shot he has there."
Video: PRE-RAW | Zach Hyman 04.09.22
HOME COOKIN'
The Oilers confidence has come from their performance, and at home in front of the fans it's been second to none.
The Blue & Orange have a chance to set a franchise record home win-streak against the Avalanche, but they can also set the tone of what it will mean to come into Rogers Place come playoff time.
"We want to make this place a hard place to play especially come play-off time the good teams don't lose much at home," Hyman said. "We take pride in this building and the fans and making it a hard place for the other team to play."
The Oilers play over the stretch hasn't always been spotless, but the best teams find ways to grind through the ebbs and flows and come out on top.
"I think just finding ways to win in different ways," Keith said. "It's not always going to be pretty, which it hasn't, so I think that's a good sign for our team being able to find ways to win, especially at this time of year.
"I don't think we're looking at games like we've been dominating teams. There's been lots of areas that we need to improve, and I think this road trip was a good step, but like I said this game is going to be another test."
View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Avalanche
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS vs. AVALANCHE
STREAM: 8:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet West & Hockey Night in Canada
Oilers Team Scope
It's a good time to be wearing Orange & Blue right now with the Oilers coming off a three-for-three road sweep through California. Edmonton has won six in a row overall and is a winner of nine straight at Rogers Place as they try to set a new franchise record on Saturday night against the Avalanche with their 10th straight victory on home ice.
The Oilers have seen contributions from up and down their lineup as of late, with the ever-familiar name of Connor McDavid hitting the score sheet for a career-high 42nd goal on Thursday against Los Angeles. The goal continued a 15-game point streak (13 goals and 16 assists during the streak) for the captain.
Outside the NHL's leading scorer, it was defenceman Evan Bouchard who really came to play with one of his strongest performances of the season. The 22-year-old scored his first goal in 31 games, added a pair of assists, and was a plus-three on the evening. On top of his offensive play, Bouchard made several heady plays in the defensive zone which helped transition the offense back into the Kings end.
"Obviously it's a great feeling getting that, but more importantly we got the win and that's all that matters right now," Bouchard said after the game.
Any momentum the Kings seemed to muster was quickly snuffed out by the continued strong play by Mike Smith. The 40-year-old is currently 4-0 in the month of April and is sporting a .932 save percentage over that span. Outside of the big-time stops he's made in key moments, Smitty made highlight reels across the country for his incredible dish on McDavid's overtime winner against San Jose.
"Numbers don't lie I guess. He's been unbelievable for us," Bouchard said of Smith. "He's been making those big saves. The way he plays the puck is incredible. You saw last game giving us that game-winner, and I can't say enough good things about him."
Forward Warren Foegele also added a key goal in the Kings contest, receiving a cross-crease feed from Derek Ryan which was neatly deposited past Jonathan Quick for his 10th of the year.
Avalanche Team Scope
To score their 10th consecutive home win, the Oilers will be tasked with knocking off the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs have been an absolute juggernaut this season with a Conference-best +76 goal differential on the year. The Denver team features a well-balanced line-up with five players currently averaging over a point per game (Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, Cale Makar, Nathan Mackinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog). However, they will likely be without Kadri and Landeskog on Saturday due to injury.
To Edmonton's advantage, Colorado will be taking on the Oilers in the second game of a back-to-back having competed Friday night in Winnipeg. The Avalanche defeated the Jets by a 5-4 score in OT with goals from Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Andre Burakovsky, Erik Johnson, Nathan Mackinnon, and Cale Makar.
Burakovsky scored his 20th goal of the season, becoming the sixth 20-goal scorer on the Avalanche this year, while backup goaltender Pavel Francouz recorded his 14th win. The Jets were lifted by a pair of goals each from Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele, but it wasn't enough to stop the NHL pacesetters.
By The Numbers
Thursday night's win was a milestone night for Zach Kassian, who suited up for his 600th NHL game… The Oilers last game against Colorado was a 3-2 overtime loss back on Mar. 21… Kailer Yamamoto recorded a goal and an assist in 20:48 of ice time in the loss… Edmonton is currently undefeated in the month of April and holds a 6-0-1 record in its last seven games… The Oilers are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games against the Avalanche… Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in particular has excelled against Colorado, sporting 23 points (11G, 23A) in 24 career games… The Oilers are a spotless 25-0-0 when leading after one period this season…
Colorado is the first team in the NHL to reach 50 wins, becoming the third-fastest team to reach that mark in the last 25 years… The Avalanche have already clinched a playoff spot, and the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be the Avalanche's fifth consecutive post-season appearance… While it's difficult to find a stretch where Colorado hasn't been hot, they are currently 8-1-1 in their last 10 games… Alberta product Cale Makar is second to only Nashville's Roman Josi among defensemen scoring leaders with 77 points in 67 games.
Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR; Kyle Turris (back) is on IR.
AVALANCHE - Gabriel Landeskog (knee) is on IR; Nazem Kadri (upper-body) is day-to-day; Ryan Murray (hand) week-to-week; Samuel Girard (lower-body) day-to-day.
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com