Avs Talk - A Colorado Avalanche Blog

Preview
It's official, Peter Budaj gets the start tonight as the goalie shuffle dances its way into Edmonton to face the ailing Oilers. The Oilers are hoping to rebound from a last minute overtime loss against the Ducks while the Avs are looking to bounce back from a 5-2 drubbing thanks to the Calgary Flames. The Oilers had the game locked up until Anaheim scored with 17 seconds left to put it into OT where Ryan Getzlaf blasted home a slapshot to silence the anti-Pronger contingent. The Avs were never even in their game for more than maybe the opening faceoff.

Injuries
The Oilers are without Ethan Moreau (shoulder), Steve Staios (knee), Ales Hemsky (shoulder). The Avs are relatively injury free however Milan Hejduk is still looking to shake the flu off as he looked a bit slow against Calgary. Jordan Leopold is still out after hernia surgery but is reportedly likely to start Saturday against Vancouver. Brad May and Pierre Turgeon are still sidelined.

Streaks
Wojtek Wolski has broken out of a 6 game scoring slump with 5 points in his last 2 games, 4 of those coming against the Canucks this past Saturday.

Dwayne Roloson is 4th in the league in save percentage and, until Tuesday's game against Anaheim, had a save percentage above .933 in each of his last 8 games while allowing only 14 goals.

Goaltenders
Peter Budaj - 2.40 GAA, .917 Save %
Dwayne Roloson - 2.27 GAA, .924 Save %

Standings
Oilers - 28 pts - 1st NW - 3rd WC
Avalanche - 24pts - 5th NW - 10th WC

Prediction
Avs 4 - Oilers 2