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Oilers trying to remain in the playoff hunt

Apr 1, 2008 - 1:27 PM Calgary (40-29-10) at Edmonton (40-34-6) 9:00 pm EDT

EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) - Needing to make up two points in two games, the Edmonton Oilers are a desperate team.

The Oilers will hope to breathe some life into their fading playoff hopes Tuesday when they host the Calgary Flames in a battle of Northwest Division rivals.

Edmonton will be eliminated from postseason contention if it loses and eighth-place Vancouver (39-30-10) wins its game against Colorado on Tuesday.

For the seventh-place Flames, a win coupled with a regulation loss by the Nashville Predators to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday would book them a spot in the playoffs.

Dustin Penner refused to let Edmonton give up on the postseason on Saturday. Penner snapped a tie midway through the third period and the Oilers held on for a 2-1 triumph over Calgary in latest installment of the "Battle of Alberta."

"It's exciting," defenseman Denis Grebeshkov said. "The playoffs have started for us already. We've got to win every game. We can give the best effort that we have."

While Edmonton has rested since that meeting, the Flames suffered a 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. Calgary, which will not play a home game for the rest of the season, has lost three of its last four contests.