For the first time this season, the Colorado Avalanche head North of the border to face off against the Edmonton Oilers. It’s the first leg of yet another back-to-back for the Avs, their third of the season.

Of course, the raging debate between Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid will carry on for years on end. Their competitive legacy will gain another chapter on Saturday at Rogers Place.

Colorado Avalanche (8–1–5)

Colorado has lost only one game in regulation this season, garnering points at almost every turn. The streak continued in Tuesday night’s affair against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 3–2 final.

Victor Olofsson has continued his hot streak with two of the three goals against the Bolts. His sneaky good offseason signing by Chris MacFarland is paying off. He’s contributed to the depth of the Avs with five goals and seven assists, fourth-best scoring on the team.

Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog also chipped in, just a goal short of a Gordie Howe hat trick. His fight riled the team up early and showed an excellent connection with the game we haven’t seen from Landeskog so far this season.

Plus, he could get some help. Gavin Brindley could return in this game. The Western Conference champions of the past two seasons stand in the way of another win for the Avalanche, and Colorado will look to make it win number nine of the season.

Projected Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Gabriel Landeskog – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly – Zakhar Bardakov – Gavin Brindley

Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Ilya Solovyov – Sam Malinski

Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Edmonton Oilers (6–5–4)

Edmonton has also been off since Tuesday, needing all the rest they can get with their last game going the distance and beyond. They would fall in the shootout on the road against the Dallas Stars.

The Oilers are on somewhat of a skid, having lost their last two. It’s been a “slower” start, all things considered. They sit outside the top three in the wild Pacific Division.

The “slow” start has also affected McDavid. Even then, he still has four goals and 17 assists to lead scoring for Edmonton. He and Leon Draisaitl, with a team-leading 10 goals, will look to steer the Oil back to winning ways.

Projected Lines

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Andrew Mangiapane
Vasily Podkolzin – Leon Draisaitl – Jack Roslovic
Matthew Savoie – Adam Henrique – Trent Frederic
Isaac Howard – Noah Philp – David Tomasek

Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Jake Walman
Brett Kulak – Alex Regula

Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard

Game Details

Time: 8:00 pm. MT

Watch: Altitude 2, Altitude+, KTVD My20, ESPN+ (Out of Market Only)

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM/AM 950