In a game whose major storyline was who the Colorado Avalanche had scratched prior to the dropping of the puck, it was a few old standbys that powered the Avs to victory. Ryan O'Reilly assisted on all three of Colorado's goals on Friday night, bring his total to 29 on the season, and Gabriel Landeskog scored his 14th goal of the season while also picking up his 18 assist.
The game-winning goal came from center Mark Oliver, who notched his first goal of the season on the second period on assists from O'Reilly and Landeskog. That goal gave the Avs a 2-0 lead, which they would never really come close to giving up. Landeskog would score on the power play midway through the second to cap the scoring for the Avs on the night, and the third goal was more than enough for Colorado.
The Avs got a fantastic game out of goalie Semyon Varlamov, who started in net on Friday night in the stead of the injured Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Varlamov, who was playing in only his third game this month, turned away 26 of Edmonton's 27 shots.
The Avs will take Saturday off before returning to the ice to take on the Winnipeg Jets.
For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Oilers blog Copper N' Blue