But there are more questions than answers at this stage. What’s the status of Jason Dickinson or Max Jones, who went down while on the road trip? Or the status of Zach Hyman, who missed the three-game road trip? Is Leon Draisaitl’s progress on track?

Isaac Howard’s recall indicates to me that neither Dickinson nor Jones would be good to go tonight, plus it’s a great opportunity for the former Hobey Baker winner to show what he can do after an extended tenure of great AHL play.

Then more questions. Where will the Oilers finish? Who will the Oilers play?

Vegas took the lead in the Pacific Division on Saturday night, but Anaheim lost in a shootout to the Vancouver Canucks. Despite that point, the Oilers are still in second, with the tiebreaker, but both have 90 points.

All of a sudden, home ice in the first round doesn’t look so steady. The dance will determine the partner.

EDM schedule: COL, VAN
VGK schedule: WPG, SEA
ANA schedule: MIN, NSH

Two more at home

The Oilers’ 1-0 loss to the Kings was just the fourth time this season that Edmonton has been blanked. With the Kings’ clogging, holding, and obstructing, the Oilers pushed in the third period but couldn’t bury.

But for two straight games, the Oilers didn’t surrender much. A costly offensive zone blueline error gave Artemi Panarin a breakaway he converted for the lone goal.

“We had enough scoring chances to get certainly more than one goal tonight,” said Kris Knoblauch. “We played well, and we missed some really good opportunities…we’re playing the right style of hockey, and we’re playing doing the right things.”

Connor Ingram looked no worse for wear, making some terrific lateral saves, which a huge sign for the Oilers. Ingram, of course, was cautiously held out of the third period back on Wednesday against the Sharks. Knoblauch starting Ingram tonight, and perhaps Tristan Jarry on Thursday against Vancouver, would give the starter almost a week of rest between starts. No determination has been made yet.

Colton Dach was one of the few players consistently willing to get to the front of the net to make things happen. Playing with Trent Frederic, they were both physical which led to looks. Adam Henrique was another bright spot. He played 15:08 of ice-time, firing four shots on goal, landing three hits, and blocking two shots.

“An effort like that throughout is needed,” said Henrique. “We’ll find a way to go score.”

This game can be seen as another confidence booster though for the Oilers, a free roll to win the season-series against the league’s top team.

Bednar latest on the IR

Rare is the biggest injury report at this stage of the season the head coach. But that was the case after Saturday night’s scary incident against the Vegas Golden Knights saw an errant puck striking Avalanche bench boss Jared Bednar. He was forced to leave the game and was banged up pretty good.

He will not travel with the team for their last two games due to facial fractures and a corneal abrasion, but will not require surgery. Strange circumstances, for the Jack Adams candidate, no doubt.

Veteran assistant Nolan Pratt and two-time HC elsewhere Dave Hakstol will coach Colorado on their last roadtrip of the regular season.

Positionally, there is nothing left to play for in Colorado, and the Avs did the Oilers no favours by losing to the VGK.

The Avalanche have already clinched the President’s Trophy, amidst one of the longest stretches of being first overall in NHL history. That means they’ve given many of their veterans the option of whether they want to stay in the lineup or rest.

“That’s still to be determined,” said Pratt after Saturday’s game about the lineup moving forward. “We obviously want to try to find some rest for some players, whether that’s ice time or potentially not playing some games. All things that we have to evaluate.”

Cale Makar suffered an injury on March 30 and hasn’t played since, as the Avs remain cautious with their top defenceman. Nazem Kadri injured his finger last Tuesday and has been held out. Then blueliner Josh Manson went down against the Golden Knights on Saturday and is listed as day-to-day.

That doesn’t include the handful of weapons who’ve been healthy that could get a night off. The Avalanche lineup will be one to pay attention to throughout the day. There’s also the option of getting some of these players back into the fold in game 82 against Seattle on Thursday.

‘Forecheck is a weapon…’

In their last eight games, Colorado is 4-3-1. They can be had. But after an uncharacteristically loose effort in an 8-6 loss to last place Vancouver on April 1, the Avs have only allowed eight goals in their last five games.

Whether they wage war with Wedgewood or Blackwood as their playoff horse, or who they thrust between the pipes tonight, is anyone’s guess. This is a back-to-back, as they’ll head south to Calgary tomorrow.

Just like Knoblauch’s discusses details and habits, Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog is harping on the team to stay sharp.

“I want to continue making sure that our a forecheck is a weapon for us. I feel like that’s been pretty effective over the whole course of the season. Continue that puck management, good habits for the puck, things like that. Make sure we’re breaking the puck out, keeping them to the outside in the D zone,” said Landeskog.

Notes:

The Oilers fell to 0-10-2 when McDavid doesn’t record a point, which should be evidence enough of his Hart Trophy candidacy.
Redditor TJTrapJesus pulled this remarkable statistic. Since 1967 expansion, there have been 22 times where a player has made the playoffs while recording a point in at least 95 per cent of their team’s wins. Only Wayne Gretzky in 1980-81 recorded a point in 100 per cent of his team’s wins. McDavid could match that, becoming just the second player post-expansion to achieve such a feat. Remember how poor the five-on-five scoring was for the bottom-six from October-February?
Vasily Podkolzin and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are one goal away from 20 on the season.
This is Nathan MacKinnon’s fourth consecutive season with 100-plus points, while setting a career high in goals with 52. He leads Cole Caufield by one for the Rocket Richard Trophy.
Martin Necas needs just one more point for 100 on the season. Only four Avalanche players have hit the century mark (Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen), eight total in franchise history including Nordiques.
The Avs powerplay has gotten better lately, but it still sits at 17.9 per cent on the year, 25th in the league.
Overall, Colorado sits first in goals per game, shots on goal per game, shots against per game, goals against per game, penalty kill percentage, and penalty minutes. Pretty damn good.
COL also has fewer regulation losses on the road than at home, going 27-7-5 away from Denver.
The Hockey Gods have not taken kindly to the Avs using the throwback Quebec Nordiques sweater this season. For what it’s worth, they’ve only won twice in the eight games they’ve worn them.
For those in attendance on November 8, it’s a game they’d love to forget. The Avs came into Rogers Place and pummeled the Oilers by a 9-1 score, the worst defeat for Edmonton since 2009. Yet the Oilers can have the last laugh for this season.

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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