Game #72 Preview
vs. 
Mike Sciarpelletti ♦
Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
There is nothing that the OKC Barons… erm… Edmonton Oilers could use more than a visit from seemingly the only team playing worse than them right now. With 20 of their previous 21 chalked up in the L column the Colorado Avalanche have truly hit bottom and now threaten to take over the mantel of worst ranked in the league.
Anaylsts had the Avs pegged to turn the corner, and even I had them ear-marked as dark horse prior to the start of the season and found them meeting my expectations in the first half of the season. Now, with the bottum having completely fallen out, the Avalanche look to rectify their train wreck of a final quarter against one of the few teams they seem to keep pace with in the Oilers.
Not that they were good enough to keep pace with the Oilers in the past two match-ups, losing by identical 5-1 scores both times, but the Avs are now facing a line-up essentially comprised of the OKC Barons. While they play with heart, teams like this rarely can take advantage of a heavily motivated team that actually has more than two lines of NHL caliber talent.
The kids have been decent, but I’m getting the feeling that the Oil may be seriously underestimating the amount of hunger they will be facing… and it will be more than the Oilers gave against Phoenix.
On the other hand the Oilers could also uncork their offense again, which they did without the likes of Hemsky and Hall in Denver the last time these two clubs met. Nothing is predictable with the Oilers.
Oilverse Prediction
Hell, why not another 5-1 route? It would certainly be nice to hear more than just begrudging muttering from the Rexall faithful!
Puck drops at 8 PM live from Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, and will be broadcast coast to coast on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC.
