I don't expect the Avalanche to take the Edmonton Oilers for granted tonight, not with Patrick Roy running the show, and it would be a grave mistake for that to happen.
The Oilers are coming off a 6-2 home loss to Phoenix on Tuesday, they're 3-9-0 at home and last in the Western Conference with 20 points in 29 games (9-18-2), but they've had their way with the Avalanche in recent seasons.
The Oilers won four of five games against the Avalanche last year and goalie Devan Dubnyk, who is expected to start, turns into an NHL All-Star when he plays Colorado. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Dubnyk has a 7-3-1 career record against the Avalanche with one shutout, a 1.94 goals-against average and .943 save percentage.
Having allowed a league-worst 101 goals, the Oilers are shaking up their defense for tonight. They called up two big defensemen in 6-foot-4 Martin Marincin and 6-3 Corey Potter from Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League, and they're expected to be in the lineup. Center Anton Lander also was called up and is expected to play.
The Oilers have been playing better of late, despite the loss to Phoenix, winning five of their past eight games.
This is the opener of a three-game trip for the Avalanche, which plays in Calgary on Friday and in Vancouver on Sunday.
Semyon Varlamov will start in goal, and he's had his troubles with the Oilers, posting a 4-7-0 career record against them with a 2.93 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.
The Avalanche has played two sets of back-to-back games this season, defeating Dallas and Montreal on Nov. 1-2 and sweeping Minnesota in last weekend's home-and-home series. Colorado is 17-0-0 when scoring first, 13-0-0 when leading after the first period and 16-0-0 when leading after two.
But the power play has been as frigid as the weather in Denver and Edmonton, going 0-for-9 over the past four games (no penalties were called Saturday against the Wild) and 2-for-16 in the past seven games, with both goals coming Nov. 21 on the road in a 4-3 overtime win against Phoenix.