Oilers at Avalanche
THE STORY: Coming off an impressive victory in Minnesota, the Edmonton Oilers seek their third straight road victory Saturday as they travel to Colorado for a date with the struggling Avalanche. Edmonton ended a 17-game losing streak in Minnesota a day earlier, cruising to a 5-2 triumph over the conference-leading Wild. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice in that one, extending his lead in the rookie scoring race and ensuring the Oilers at least a split of its four-game road trip. They'll wrap up the trek against an Avalanche team that is just 2-8-1 in the month of November and has been shut out twice in its last four contests. Colorado slipped to 1-2-0 on its four-game homestand with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. The Oilers prevailed 3-1 in their first head-to-head meeting of the season Oct. 28 in Denver.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, Altitude
ABOUT THE OILERS (12-8-2): A renewed commitment to special teams is one of the major reasons why Edmonton remains a formidable force in the Western Conference. The club ranks third in the NHL with the man advantage, operating at a 22.2-percent clip through the first quarter of the season. Edmonton finished 26th on the power play last season. The penalty kill has also improved dramatically, up from 76.9 percent in 2010-11 to 86 percent so far this season.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (9-12-1): Colorado's power play has persevered through the club's extended struggles, ranked second in the league at 24.3 percent. The penalty kill is a different story, as the Avalanche are just 26th so far this season at 78.4 percent. The lack of wins hasn't come from a lack of offensive chances, as Colorado has outshot its opponents in seven of its last 10 games but is just 2-7-1 over that time frame.
OVERTIME:
1. Edmonton has the edge in recent head-to-head-history, going 5-0-3 in their last eight encounters. The Oilers haven't lost in regulation to the Avalanche since Feb. 6, 2010.
2. Colorado forward Paul Stastny suggested his team is trying to do too much. "We just need to be desperate," he said. "Our performance is embarrassing. We can't score goals. We are being too cute."
3. Saturday matches up No. 1 pick Nugent-Hopkins with No. 2 draft choice Gabriel Landeskog. Nugent-Hopkins leads all first-year players with 24 points while Landeskog is well off the pace, scoring just five goals and five assists through 22 games.