The Avalanche will try to extend their winning streak to five games Saturday night when they take on Edmonton at the Pepsi Center.
Here are the game notes.
The Avalanche (16-16-1) are three points behind Nashville, which plays host to Minnesota, for the second wild card berth in the Western Conference.
The Oilers (14-17-2) are two points out of third place in the Pacific Division, which is guaranteed a playoff spot. They've lost two games in a row after running up a six-game winning streak and are closing out a four-game road trip.
The Avalanche are getting excellent goaltending from goalie Semyon Varlamov, who's allowed five goals in a personal five-game winning streak, but they've been playing much better defensively since last Sunday's 3-1 win in St. Louis when they were outshot 43-18. Coach Patrick Roy apparently had some choice words for the team after that one, and they're using a 1-3-1 defensive scheme at times.
"I think a big thing right now is getting back on pucks," Nick Holden said. "With that 1-3-1 we're making teams dump it in a lot and we're making good plays to get it out. Maybe in the past we would try and force something and kind of give it up. That's something that's helped us.
"Defensively, sometimes teams can start cycling a little bit on the outside. I think we've been able to do a good job keeping teams to the outside and eliminating second chances. And when we get pucks we're going forward real quick, not holding onto it too long. So we have good center support and good 'D' support for reverses and we can get going instead of holding onto it or just flipping it out."
The Avalanche have outscored teams 11-4 during the four-game streak despite an inept power play (1-for-13, 1-for-26 in 10 games), not as much scoring from the Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Matt Duchene line (a combined three goals, six assists) and no production from Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay (two assists).
Iginla doesn't have a point in nine games and his lone point in the past 14 games was a goal in Brooklyn on Nov. 30. Tanguay has two assists in eight games since returning from his knee injury; he didn't have a point in four games before getting hurt.
Yet here the Avalanche are, back in the hunt for a playoff berth.
Carl Soderberg is quietly having a very solid season, fourth on the team in scoring with five goals and 16 assists in 33 games. He has three goals and nine assists in the past 14 games. He's been centering an effective line with grinders Andreas Martinsen and Blake Comeau; the latter two have combined for a goal and three assists in four games.
"We're working hard, that's the common (attribute)," Soderberg said. "That's the most important thing, and that's the key to being successful. You have to work hard, then everything else kind of comes by itself. Comeau is one of the best forecheckers in the league, I love to play with him. Marty, he's fitting in well."
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Left wing Benoit Pouliot will return to the Oilers lineup after missing eight games with a hip injury. Coach Todd McLellan said he'll play on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle.
Pouliot has five goals and seven assists in 24 games, tying him with injured No. 1 draft pick Connor McDavid for fifth on the team. McDavid, who's played in 13 games, sustained a fractured clavicle Nov. 3 against Philadelphia. He's resumed skating but no return date has been set.
Hulking (6-foot-5) Anders Nilsson is expected to start in goal. He's never faced the Avalanche. Nilsson has won five of his past six starts.
No changes in the Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Matt Duchene Andreas Martinsen - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau Alex Tanguay - John Mitchell - Jarome Iginla Cody McLeod - Mikhail Grigorenko - Jack Skille
DEFENSE Francois Beauchemin - Erik Johnson Nick Holden - Tyson Barrie Zach Redmond - Nate Guenin
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Reto Berra