Avalanche at Oilers
The Colorado Avalanche have lost three in a row, but their biggest problem appears to be the loss of Hart Trophy contender Nathan MacKinnon as they continue a three-game road trip through western and central Canada against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. MacKinnon will not play with an upper-body injury after leaving Tuesday's 4-3 overtime loss to Vancouver, dropping Colorado one point out of wild-card position in the Western Conference.
MacKinnon absorbed a hard hit from Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler and was seen wincing in pain while holding his shoulder and/or collarbone on the bench before heading for the locker room, then flew back to Denver on Wednesday to be evaluated - an indication that he will likely also miss Saturday's game at Winnipeg. The loss of MacKinnon, who is second in the NHL with 61 points, for an extended period of time could be a huge blow to Colorado's playoff chances as they are in the process of making huge strides after accumulating only 48 points during a 2016-17 season to forget. Edmonton, which has played only three games in the last 18 days, is living a nightmare this season as they sit 12 points out of a wild-card spot, but have won four of their last five games following a 4-3 shootout victory over Calgary on Jan. 25. “It’s just a matter of believing in each other and sticking together,” Oilers forward Zack Kassian told reporters. “We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. You can’t play hockey that way, it won’t turn out well.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), Sportsnet West (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (27-18-4): Alexander Kerfoot (12 goals), who is fourth on the team with 32 points during a solid rookie season, is a candidate to replace MacKinnon and center the top line. Mikko Rantanen (17 goals, 49 points) and captain Gabriel Landeskog (19 goals, 38 points) have thrived playing with MacKinnon as Rantanen is already having a career year and Landeskog is on pace for one. Semyon Varlamov (13-9-2, 2.87 goals-against average, .912 save percentage), who has missed the last 10 games with a groin injury, practiced fully Monday and could play Thursday.
ABOUT THE OILERS (22-24-3): Milan Lucic hasn't scored in the last 13 games and his nine goals this season are a significant falloff from the past four years, when he averaged 21.3. Connor McDavid, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, leads the team with 54 points but has only one goal and eight assists in his last 12 games. Defenseman Adam Larsson (even rating, 21:30 average ice time in 40 games) will miss his second straight contest because of a personal matter.
OVERTIME
1. Edmonton (second-worst power play at 14.5 percent) is 0-for-14 with the man advantage over the last seven games and 1-for-27 in its past 11 contests, and is last in penalty killing at 72.2 percent - including an eye-popping 56.6 at home.
2. Colorado is 4-3-2 versus the Pacific after going 2-16-2 against the division last season while the Oilers are 0-5-1 in their last six games versus the Central.
3. Edmonton swept last season's three-game series by a combined 17-8 with former Oiler Jordan Eberle (four goals), F Leon Draisaitl (three) and McDavid (goal, five assists) doing significant damage.