EDMONTON AT COLORADO

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NOTEBOOK

Avalanche: Peter Budaj will start in goal tonight. He won his most recent start, a 3-2 victory over the Oilers on Thanksgiving night. Defensemen Scott Hannan and Jeff Finger, who both missed Monday's practice, skated with the team Tuesday and are expected to play tonight. Avs veteran Ian Laperriere (sprained knee) is skating again, but he won't play tonight. Tonight's game will mark the end of a stretch in which the Avs played a Northwest Division opponent in 10 of 11 games.

Oilers: Edmonton is coming off a solid 3-1 win over Columbus on Monday. Dwayne Roloson stopped 37 shots and is expected to get the start tonight. The Oilers practiced at Big Bear Arena on Tuesday. The Oilers have scored the first goal of a game only seven times this season.

 

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STORYLINE

The Colorado Avalanche's only win in their last five games was against the Oilers, 3-2 last week at Rexall Place. The Avs have been outscored 21-8 in the five games. They're 2-1 on the year against Edmonton, winning in a shootout at the Pepsi Center on Nov. 7 after a wide-open game where Raffi Torres had a whopping 10 shots on Peter Budaj. That was Torres's best game of the season.

PLUSES AND MINUSES

- Oilers: Dwayne Roloson, who'll get the start tonight, has stopped 74 of 77 shots during the last two games. Ales Hemsky has six points in the last four games. The fourth line of Geoff Sanderson, Marty Reasoner and Kyle Brodziak has chipped in with 10 points the last three games. Sam Gagner hasn't scored in seven games and Robert Nilsson has scored just once in 16 games.

- Avalanche: They're 9-2 at home. Wojtek Wolski has 16 points and leads them with a plus-10. Marek Svatos, who got the winner in the last meeting in Edmonton, has nine goals and only one assist. His nine goals came on only 39 shots, too. Ryan Smyth is minus-eight, and Scott Hannan has been in a funk most of the year, at minus-13.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Oilers have won two games in a row (the third time they've done it this year). The last time they won three straight was almost a calendar year ago. They beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0, Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in the first meeting since the Stanley Cup final, and the Dallas Stars 2-0, but then won only three of their next 11 games.

MACT WAITS FOR OFFENCE FROM TORRES

Raffi Torres has had 52 shots and no goals since scoring against the Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 18. He had one shot in the first minute on Pascal Leclaire on Monday, but that was it. He's gone 17 games without a goal.

"As long as he's playing solid, dependable hockey, that's fine with me," said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish. "He didn't score last year too, but he was unpredictable on the ice back then. I wasn't sure what he'd do with the puck.

"Now, I've got a good idea what he'll do. He's in the right position and not throwing the puck away, and if he's doing that I have the patience to wait for his offence."

ARNASON THRIVES AGAINST OILERS

Avs centre Tyler Arnason has four points in three games against the Oilers and four against the rest of the league in the other 19 games.

"It's the turnover game. We don't get him playing enough in his end. He's got a good stick and he's strong on it. He stripped us a few times leaving our zone last game," said MacTavish.

RIGHT BACK IN THE FIRE

Defenceman Joni Pitkanen has played 20, 26 and 27 minutes in the last three games since returning from knee surgery. "He's a weapon for us. He skates the puck up, he's managing his decisions," said MacTavish. "Guys who have that skating ability don't normally take long to get up to speed. He's definitely a thoroughbred."

ON THE MEND

- Oilers: Dick Tarnstrom (concussion), Sheldon Souray (shoulder separation), Matt Greene (broken ankle), Ethan Moreau (broken foot), Fernando Pisani (ulcerative colitis)