• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Avalanche aim to rebound in road test against Oilers

Nov 25, 2010 - 3:57 PM (Sports Network) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to get back in the win column tonight, when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for a Northwest Division battle at Rexall Place.

Colorado had won a season-high four games in a row before losing one in Vancouver on Wednesday. The regulation setback dropped the Avalanche, who are completing a three-game road trip tonight, to 6-4-1 as the visiting team,

The Canucks notched a 4-2 victory over the Avs last night at Rogers Arena. Ryan Kesler posted the game-winner early in the third period and the Sedin twins combined for four points for Vancouver.

John-Michael Liles posted a goal and a helper in the losing effort, and Matt Duchene also scored for the Avalanche.

"We didn't play our game, and that was the bottom line," said Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco. "Our game is skating, our game is fore-checking. When we did do that we had some success. But we turned too many pucks over through the neutral zone, which didn't allow us to really establish our forecheck, our game."

Peter Budaj took the loss after allowing three goals on 12 shots over the final 40 minutes. Craig Anderson started the game but left with a groin injury following the first period, in which he made six stops.

Anderson was making just his second start since returning from a 10-game absence due to a knee injury. The groin injury to Colorado's No. 1 netminder should result in a start for Budaj tonight.

Colorado lost another key part of its lineup in Wednesday's game as defenseman and team captain Adam Foote left the contest with a leg injury in the first period and did not return. Foote is doubtful for tonight's contest.

The Oilers, meanwhile, have just one victory in their last eight games (1-5-2) and are last in the Western Conference with just 14 points on the season.

Edmonton posted one of its five victories this season with Sunday's 4-2 decision in Anaheim, but the Oilers were unable to follow up with a positive performance in their next outing, losing Tuesday's 5-0 decision in Phoenix. Martin Hanzal and Lee Stempniak each tallied twice and Ilya Bryzgalov stopped all 23 shots he faced for the Coyotes.

Devan Dubnyk allowed five goals on 34 shots in defeat for the Oilers, who fell behind 48 seconds into the game and never recovered.

"We just weren't ready to start the game and it showed," Oilers forward Sam Gagner said. "Everyone saw our first period and the way we handled being down, and it wasn't good."

Being back on home ice for the next two games is probably not much of a consolation for the Oilers either. Edmonton has lost six straight at Rexall Place and hasn't won a home game since defeating Florida on Oct. 10. Tom Renney's club is just 2-5-1 overall as the host this year.

The Oilers split six meetings with the Avs last year, but this is the first encounter between the clubs in 2010-11. Colorado has won six of 11 overall in the series, but has also lost two in a row and five of its last eight games in Edmonton.