Oilers move into tie for first in Pacific with win vs Avs

Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) The Oilers know a postseason berth is imminent. Now it's just a matter of finding out where they'll fit in that playoff picture.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Drake Caggiula each had a goal and an assist and Edmonton moved into a three-way tie atop the Pacific Division with a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

"We are obviously watching the standings and aware of where we fit in right now," Caggiula said. "This was a huge two points for our team. Every point is going to be crucial, but with the other teams giving us some help tonight, it was big that we got these two points."

Benoit Pouliot and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who have won six of their last seven games and are now tied with San Jose and Anaheim at 91 points.

"It's nice to be in that mix," Draisaitl said. "We still have a couple of games left. We're up there, so might as well go for it."

Sven Andrighetto scored for the Avalanche, who have dropped five games in a row.

Laurent Brossoit got just his third start of the season in net for the Oilers, making 24 saves for the win.

"Anytime I can get in, that's great for me," he said. "The more experience I get, the more comfortable I am going to be. I'll take what is given. I understand my role and I understand that (Cam Talbot) is the guy and a big reason as to why we are where we are in the standings."

Edmonton took a 1-0 lead on its first shot 1:54 into the opening period when Pouliot tipped Matt Benning's point shot past goalie Calvin Pickard.

Andrighetto scored 45 seconds later by fighting off Adam Larsson and tucked the puck past Brossoit.

The Oilers retook the lead midway through the first on a goal from Draisaitl - his 27th goal and 70th point.

After a scoreless second period, the Oilers made it 3-1 with 11:14 remaining in the third when Caggiula redirected Nugent-Hopkins' pass past Pickard on the power play.

Nugent-Hopkins put the game away with another power-play goal with 4 1/2 minutes to play, his 16th of the season.

"We were kind of chasing the game and tried to push as much as possible and they got a couple of power plays and got some momentum off of that and capitalized on the power play as well," Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "Against a team like this, especially in the third in their building, you have to be smart and keep your sticks down and that ended up costing us."

NOTES: Pickard stopped 25 shots. ... It was the third and final meeting of the season, with the Oilers winning the previous two, including coming from behind and scoring five third-period goals for a 7-4 win in Colorado on Thursday. The Avalanche had been outscored 17-1 in the third period in its previous four games coming into Saturday. ... Oilers F Jordan Eberle played his 500th NHL game, all for Edmonton. He is the 21st player to hit the milestone for the Oilers. ... Brossoit made just his third start of the season in net for Edmonton.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: Travel to Calgary for a game Monday night.

Oilers: Host Los Angeles on Tuesday night.