The Colorado Avalanche will start a two-game road trip against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at Rogers Place. Colorado enters with an 8-1-5 record after a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, while Edmonton is 6-5-4 following a 4-3 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars.
The Avalanche travel to Canada for their first of three meetings with the Oilers this season, with the others scheduled for March 10 in Denver and April 13 in Edmonton. In 134 regular-season games against Edmonton, Colorado holds a 73-49-12 record, including playoff wins in 1997 and 2022.
Colorado's latest victory came Tuesday at Ball Arena, where Victor Olofsson scored twice—his fourth on the power play and fifth via a one-timer—for a 3-2 edge. Ross Colton added his second goal of the season with a backhand on a partial breakaway against his former team. Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves on 24 shots, and the Avalanche killed off all three penalties while scoring on the power play. Nikita Kucherov opened scoring for Tampa at 1:37 of the first, and Brayden Point cut the lead to 3-2 at 3:32 of the third.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar noted postgame: "I don't think we had our best jump. But we played with a real good conscious. We were committed on the defending side."
Edmonton's recent defeat went to a shootout after a 3-3 tie. Vasily Podkolzin scored first at 3:40 of the first, Leon Draisaitl added a power-play goal at 7:07, and Connor McDavid made it 3-1 at 7:51 of the third. Mikko Rantanen scored twice for Dallas, and Miro Heiskanen tied it at 12:20. Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston won the shootout for the Stars.
Key Avalanche performers include Nathan MacKinnon with 10 goals and 20 points, Cale Makar leading defensemen in points (18) and assists (14), and Martin Necas with 9 goals. For Edmonton, McDavid has 21 points, Draisaitl 10 goals, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 16 points. Colorado's penalty kill stands at 90.5%, second in the NHL, and they allow 2.50 goals per game, tied for third fewest.