PREVIEW: Oilers at Avalanche

The Edmonton Oilers conclude their regular season schedule on Thursday night at Ball Arena against the Colorado Avalanche.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 7:30 p.m. MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin 30 minutes before puck-drop, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

PREVIEW: Oilers at Avalanche

DENVER, CO – One last dress rehearsal before the big show.

The Oilers will play their final game of the 2023-24 regular season on Thursday night as their mini two-game, back-to-back road trip concludes at Ball Arena against the Colorado Avalanche.

Less than 21 hours removed from a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes in what was likely the final NHL game at Mullett Arena, the Blue & Orange will get one more chance to record their 50th win of the season for the fifth time in franchise history.

The Oilers would, of course, have preferred to be victorious on Wednesday, but with their spot as the Pacific Division's second-place squad solidified, their sights are now set on post-season play.

"We're focused on better things in the sense that we're gearing up for the playoffs," said Warren Foegele, who tallied one of Edmonton's two goals in the defeat to the Desert Dogs to give him 20 on the season. "We're all ready to focus on the number one prize and that's the Stanley Cup."

Thursday's game in Denver is relatively superfluous for the two teams, with the outcome irrelevant to the final standings and playoff positioning – a stark contrast from their last meeting on April 5 in Edmonton when the Oilers were able to punch their ticket to the post-season with a 6-2 victory that saw Connor McDavid and Evander Kane each pot a pair of goals.

The season series is on the line, though, as the Avalanche won their previous meeting 3-2 in overtime on March 16 also at Rogers Place, with Artturi Lehkonen lighting the lamp in sudden death. The winner of tonight's game would also determine which team has home-ice advantage if they were to meet in the Western Conference Final.

"These games are a little bit tougher because we know where we stand going into the playoffs," said goaltender Calvin Pickard. "But we want to keep doing the right things with playoffs right around the corner."

Pickard is expected to back up Stuart Skinner on Thursday after tending the twine in Tempe.

The netminder is one of several positions projected to be swapped for the Oilers on Thursday, as the team recalled veteran forwards Sam Gagner and Adam Erne from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors prior to Wednesday's game.

Derek Ryan is likely to be back in Edmonton's lineup as well after sitting out the last three games, allowing three of the team's high-minute forwards an extra day of rest ahead of the playoffs.

The Oilers also called up defenceman Philip Broberg on Tuesday, and the young Swede suited up against the Coyotes, playing 16:50 and assisting on Foegele's third-period tally.

"I thought he played really well, moved the puck well," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said of the eighth-overall pick from 2019 in his first game with the big club since Nov. 22 in Carolina.

"A few times he skated the puck out, which is great that he has the confidence to do that. And then defensively, with his long reach and good skating, he broke up a lot of plays. We were very impressed. He hasn't played in the NHL for quite some time, so I thought it was a very good game."

Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci were replaced by Broberg and Troy Stecher on Wednesday, so the latter duo could be primed to play once again in Denver, providing more rest for the regulars.