The NHL trade deadline has passed so now the focus for the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche turns to the stretch run of the regular season.
A winner of three of its last five contests, Edmonton will try to keep the momentum going when it visits Colorado on Tuesday night in Denver.
The Oilers are in a battle in the Pacific Division in their quest to reach a third straight Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton resides in third place, three points behind first-place Anaheim, and also is feeling the heat from Seattle, which has played two fewer games than the Oilers and trails them by three points.
Edmonton has a potent offense — its 227 goals are second to Colorado’s 238 — but it is focusing on defense. The Oilers have allowed 218 goals and has allowed an average 4.4 in their last nine games. In the six losses over that span, they let in 5.5 goals.
The 4-2 win at Vegas on Sunday night was a positive step for Edmonton.
“We’ve been talking about packing it in the D-zone and just playing good defense,” goaltender Connor Ingram said after the win over the Golden Knights. “We’re good enough that we’re going to get chances no matter what, so if we take care of the puck at that end, we’re going to be fine.”
It helps having the NHL’s leading scorer in Connor McDavid, who has 108 points (35 goals, 73 assists) and Leon Draisaitl, who is fourth with 92 points (34 goals, 58 assists).
The Avalanche have plenty of firepower, too, with Nathan MacKinnon leading the way. MacKinnon, who was the NHL MVP two seasons ago, has put together another great season with 104 points (43 goals, 61 assists) behind only McDavid in the scoring race.
Martin Necas is having a banner season for Colorado. He already has tied his career high in goals with 28 to go with 48 assists and is just seven points shy of tying his best scoring season.
Colorado is coming off a pivotal weekend that helped secure its place atop the NHL standings. The Avalanche rallied to win shootouts at Dallas on Friday night and against Minnesota on Sunday to gain points on their closest competitors.
They lead the Stars by seven points and the Wild by 10 and have played fewer games than both teams.
“We’ve been really good. We’re playing hard every night, and we’re getting the results, too,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “That’s not an easy stretch. The five (games) in seven (days) coming out of the break was a bear.”
The 3-2 win Sunday was Nazem Kadri’s first game back with Colorado, and his offense is needed with recent injuries. Artturi Lehkonen is out with a lower-body injury and captain Gabriel Landeskog is also dealing with a groin injury that will keep him sidelined for a couple of weeks.
Landeskog sustained the injury against Dallas when teammate Cale Makar’s shot hit him in his protective cup.
“It’s a lower-body injury, not a comfortable one, and that’s the time frame the doctors gave us,” Bednar said.
