Avs Talk - A Colorado Avalanche Blog

It feels like a decade since the Avalanche last played hockey. Of course that could be because I was stuck in my house battling a cold for the last couple days. Days really drag out when you're being forced to choose between Oprah or Dr. Phil on TV. Thank goodness I have a lot of books that need reading including Winning. Nothing Else.

But I get a reprieve from the reading tonight as tthe Avalanche are in Edmonton to take on another underachieving team in the Edmonton Oilers.

Craig Mactavish is frustrated enough with his team that he's sitting Dustin Penner and Kyle Brodziak in favor of Liam Reddox (who?) and Jesse Boulerice. Penner's contract is working out well, eh?

For the Avalanche, Joe Sakic is still in Denver trying to fix his ailing back which means Tyler Arnason will again get a chance to showcase his skills.

After being a healthy scratch against Nashville, he came roaring back in the Avs 2-1 win against Vancouver. And by "roaring back", I mean it appears he could not have cared less about the possibility of being benched again. Maybe he knows something about Sakic's back that we're not being told.

Peter Budaj will be in net for the Avalanche in his sixth straight start. His last two performances have been gold star outings and I'm expecting more of the same tonight.

It is the first of two appearances on HNIC for the Avs. Game time is 10:00 ET, 8:00 MT which means a late 9:00 start for myself. Why oh why must we not change times with the rest of the world?

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