The Edmonton Oilers are playing their final road game of the regular season tonight as they take on the Colorado Avalanche. If the Edmonton Oilers win tonight they will put themselves in good shape to finish at least second in the Western Conference.
Both teams are coming into this game on long-winning streaks. The Edmonton Oilers have won 7 in a row whereas the Colorado Avalanche has won 5. One of these streaks will come to an end tonight. This game also has a huge outcome on the standings, as most games right now do.
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegas Golden Knights | 80 | 49 | 22 | 9 | 107 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 48 | 23 | 9 | 105 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 79 | 49 | 24 | 6 | 104 |
| Dallas Stars | 80 | 45 | 21 | 14 | 104 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 81 | 46 | 25 | 10 | 102 |
| Minnesota Wild | 80 | 46 | 24 | 10 | 102 |
| Seattle Kraken | 80 | 46 | 26 | 8 | 100 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 45 | 32 | 3 | 93 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com
Generated 4/11/2023.
It is a real mess in this division right now. The good news it makes every single game left to play exciting. There are a lot of different opportunities for where a team can finish. Let us focus on the Edmonton Oilers though. The Edmonton Oilers could play any of the following teams, Seattle, LA or Winnipeg.
If Vegas loses at least one of their games it opens the door for Edmonton to finish first in the division where they would play wild card 2 which is Winnipeg. If Vegas finishes first the Oilers’ opponent will be either the Kings or Kraken, depending on if Seattle can beat the Golden Knights or not.
I don’t think I have seen so much variety in the way the standings could finish in a long time. I have seen a battle for who makes it or not. Never do I remember a team having the potential of playing 3 different teams and having the possibility to finish first in their conference to second in their division. It is going to be exciting to watch going down the stretch for sure.
The Avalanche Have Major Injuries And The Edmonton Oilers Need To Take Advantage
The injury list for the Colorado Avalanche is not only long, but it includes major players. Most notably Cale Makar. Makar is not only the Avalanche’s most offensive player he is a fast defender and is their best choice for guarding McDavid.
This takes a bit of the wind out of the sails out for potential playoff matches between these teams, as Colorado isn`t fully healthy. That doesn`t mean that the Edmonton Oilers can take it easy on them. The Avalanche are still on a 5 game winning streak even with these injuries.
The Edmonton Oilers need to handle this game as they would a playoff game. The last few games for the Oilers have been against weaker teams and they have been able to keep the goals against down. I am going to be keeping my eye on this game tonight to see if they can stop a very offensive team in Colorado.
This is going to be a fun game to watch. It may not have all the players that would be in a potential Western Conference Final, but I still thing the intensity will be there. It is a good game for the Edmonton Oilers to let the Avalanche know that they mean business this year and are a better team than the last time they played.