Eurolanche

Avs look to keep playoff hopes alive

Season series: Derek Roy's tiebreaking goal midway through the third period gave the Edmonton Oilers a 4-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche on March 25. The Avalanche defeated the Oilers 2-1 on Jan. 2 behind shootout goals from Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay.

Avalanche team scope: Colorado was off Sunday after playing four games in five nights.

"It's good for us to have a rest and a good morning skate on Monday and be ready for the Oilers," coach Patrick Roy told the Denver Post after a 5-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs remain a longshot for the Avalanche despite going 8-3-1 in March and 13-6-1 in its past 20 games. Colorado trails the Winnipeg Jets by eight points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

"All we can do is enjoy playing these games, try to win them, play hard and try to do our part," forward Jarome Iginla told the Associated Press.

Defenseman Erik Johnson (knee surgery) skated Saturday and is very close to returning, according to Roy. Defenseman Tyson Barrie got his 100th NHL point Saturday. Iginla passed Jean Beliveau (1,219) for 40th place on the all-time scoring list and has 13 points in his past 12 games.

Oilers team scope: Edmonton begins a three-game road trip after winning two straight games but dealing with injuries. Forwards Boyd Gordon (back) and Matt Hendricks (back), and defensemen Mark Fayne (shoulder) and Andrew Ference (concussion) are sidelined, though the Oilers hope defenseman Nikita Nikitin, day-to-day with a foot injury and on the trip, is able to play.

Backup goalie Richard Bachman made 29 saves to earn his second NHL shutout in a win against the Dallas Stars on Friday. Forward Taylor Hall has a goal and three assists in four games since returning from a leg injury. Forward Andrew Miller became the sixth player to score his first NHL goal on a penalty shot and first since Jay McClement on Oct. 11, 2005.

-- by Jon Lane for NHL.com --