With both the Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche being 7-2-1 both of these teams are coming into tonight playing very well in their previous 10 games. Both teams have had two games off beforehand too, so there is no advantage on rest. This is why this is set up to be one of the better games of the season.
The Avalanche come into this game winners of 5 in a row and are in a 3-way tie atop the Central Division. They are tied at 89 points with both the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets. While the Stars have played one more game than them the Jets one less. Every game the rest of the way is an important one for the Avalanche as they are going to want to win the Division so they can avoid playing either of the other two teams.
For the Edmonton Oilers while there is a chance that they can catch the Vancouver Canucks in first place the 9 points seems like it could be too large of a gap to close with the number of games left in the season. They are also 4 points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and have 2 games in hand, so it would appear the Oilers are going to be stuck in 2nd place unless one of the teams falters or gets really hot.
These two teams have yet to face each other so far in the season, and after today they will still have 2 more times. I am looking at this three-game series as a mini-playoff series and a great litmus test for the Edmonton Oilers. If they win all 3 then I will be feeling good going into the playoffs. If they split the series either way nothing really changes.
The main concern for me is if the Oilers lose all three games. This would be scary for me as an Oilers fan, if they can beat the Avalanche in the regular season then it wouldn't look good for them in the playoffs as teams. The only thing that could help them is the Oilers would go into a series against the Avalanche as "underdogs", but that would be the only positive.
It's a full day on the NHL schedule and for the Oilers, every two points are important if they can pass the Canucks in the standings then the home ice throughout the first couple of rounds of the playoffs would be an advantage for the Oilers.