On a night where the Edmonton Oilers were missing some of their key players such as McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins, Bouchard, Ekholm, and Kane, they were set to play against the full lineup of the Colorado Avalanche. Many players were called up from the Oilers’ AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, to fill in for the missing players. These players included Adam Erne, Sam Gagner, and Phillip Broberg. This game offered a great opportunity for the AHL and bottom-of-the-line players to showcase their skills before the playoffs. Stuart Skinner got the start, but unfortunately, he did not start off well. The Avalanche’s top line took advantage of the weaker lineup of the Oilers, scoring four unanswered goals, with Valeri Nichushkin scoring twice and Mikko Rantanen and Josh Manson each scoring once. Towards the end of the period, Dylan Holloway managed to tip-in a long shot from Phillip Broberg to reduce the deficit to 4-1 as the game went into intermission.
To begin the second period, the Edmonton Oilers replaced Stuart Skinner with Calvin Pickard as the goalie. The Oilers started the period with a lot of energy and had many chances to score, thanks to great play from Warren Foegele. But Justus Annunen, the goalie for the Colorado Avalanche, continued to play well and maintain their lead of 4-1. Eventually, Zach Parise scored a goal in his final NHL regular season game, extending the Avalanche’s lead to 5-1. This happened just before the second intermission.
During the third period of the game, the score remained unchanged, and it was quite uneventful. The final score was 5-1, with Colorado being the winning team. Justus Annunen, the goalie for Colorado, played exceptionally well against the Oilers, who had a weaker lineup. Throughout the game, the camera kept showing Oilers players sitting in the boxes high up in Ball Arena. The players absent from the Oilers’ lineup tonight contributed to 63% of their total scoring, so it is important not to take this loss too hard and use it as a learning experience for the other players. As for the Avalanche, they will start Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets. On the other hand, the Oilers will face the Los Angeles Kings for the third year in a row in Round 1 of the playoffs.
ITR 43: It's Winning Time – Inside The Rink
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