Oilers at Avalanche
THE STORY: The Colorado Avalanche can't afford to let points go by the boards. The Avalanche, who sit just one point out of eighth place in the ultra-crowded Western Conference, will have a chance to improve their standing when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon. Coach Tom Renney's club fell for the fourth time in five contests when it dropped a 5-3 decision to Montreal on Thursday.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, RSW, ALT
ABOUT THE OILERS (26-35-6): LW Taylor Hall netted his 24th goal and notched his 50th point on Thursday. The top overall pick of the 2010 draft, Hall has enjoyed playing the Avalanche in his young career, recording four goals and two assists in seven games. After sitting out versus the Canadiens, G Devan Dubnyk may get the start on Saturday. Dubnyk has won four of his last six starts and is 4-2-1 with a slim 2.13 goals-against average in his career against Colorado.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (35-30-4): LW Jamie McGinn continues to make his presence felt with his new team. Acquired from the Sharks at the NHL's trade deadline, McGinn extended his four-game point streak with his fourth goal and second assist during Colorado's 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday. G Semyon Varlamov, who suffered just his second setback in seven decisions, won his last outing against Edmonton. The 23-year-old Russian turned aside 26 shots in a 3-1 win on Feb. 17.
OVERTIME:
1. Edmonton has defeated its Northwest Division rival in three of the five meetings - with the teams having split a pair at the Pepsi Center this season.
2. Colorado LW Matt Duchene will miss three to four weeks with an ankle injury. "I'm gonna work as hard as I possibly can to be back in an Avs jersey before the season is over," Duchene said on his Twitter account.
3. Despite its trouble in the standings, Edmonton boasts the NHL's best power play (22.0 percent).