NHL History & News

Northwest division rivals the Colorado Avalanche and the Edmonton Oilers square off Thursday night at Rexall Place.

NHL Betting Odds are not yet available for this matchup.

The Oilers will catch a break – and they need all the breaks they can get – as the Avalanche will be playing the second game of a back-to-back, after visiting the Canucks in Vancouver on Wednesday.

Colorado has surprised many this season, and was leading the Northwest division heading into Wednesday’s action with a 12-7-1 record. Edmonton has had a poor season so far, going 5-10-4.

The Avs are the second highest scoring team in the NHL, averaging 3.6 goals per game. However, Colorado is also giving up 3.00 goals each game. The Oilers are averaging 2.58 GPG and are the worst-rated defensive team in the league, allowing 4.05 GPG.

With Edmonton’s poor defensive performance, it would make sense that the team has the worst shots against in the league at 35.6 per game, allows the most power play goals in the league with 1.3 per game, and has the worst penalty killing in the league 68.4%.

Head-to-head, Colorado is 5-4-0-1 in the past 10 meetings. This is the first meeting of the season. The teams last squared off on April 7 last season, a 5-4 Oilers home win as a -100 moneyline favorite.

Tampa Bay Lighting visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at the CONSOL Energy Center. on Friday, and they are the two top goal scorers in the National Hockey League last season.

Right down to the final day of the 2010-11 season, Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos took their battle for the NHL goal-scoring race and by finishing with 51 apiece, they ended up sharing the Rocket Richard Trophy.

For the Friday’s matchup, NHL Betting Odds are not yet available.

Between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, this is the second meeting of the season.

When the Lighting beat the Penguins 5-3 on Oct. 27, the tiebreaking goal was scored by Martin St. Louis early in the third period and added a late empty-netter.

In regulation this season, this was the Penguins first road loss.

Starter Mike Smith was pulled at 12:15 of the first period allowing three goals on seven shots, Tampa Bay goalie Dan Ellis took over thereafter.

St. Louis said that he has been thrown by you there and you have been given a chance by him to get back in and said that was great.

Vincent Lecavalier, Teddy Purcell and Dana Tyrell also had markers for the Lightning.

In NHL action Wednesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs visit Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

The Leafs have stumbled lately, although they got off to a great start, and are now at 5-4-1, Washington is at 7-4-0.

The Maple leafs will be without forward Colby Armstrong, on the injury front. He is out indefinitely with a hand injury. Including forwards Boyd Gordon (Day-to-Day, undisclosed) and Marcus Johansson (Day-to-Day, hip injury); the Capitals have a number of players sidelines.

In the past 10 head-to-head matchups, Toronto is 5-5-0-0, seven of which have gone under the total. On Jan. 15 last season, the teams last met, when the Capitals blew out the Maple Leafs 6-1 and cashed as a -255 home favorite. Over the total of 5.5, went the score.

On Saturday was Toronto’s last game, when it lost 2-0 to the New York Rangers. A -150 moneyline home favorite was Toronto.

With a 7-2 shellacking of the Calgary Flames, Washington closed out a road trip. A -115 home favorite was Calgary.