Colorado Avalanche	7 MT / 9 ET / 2 GMT	Edmonton Oilers
13-5-3	November 18th, 2009	8-10-3
29 pts	Rexall Place	19 pts
2nd in West	Edmonton, AB	12th in West

The Colorado Avalanche won a big, big game last night but we don't have a lot of time to celebrate. Tonight, the Avalanche complete their 4th set of back-to-back games this year when they take on the Oilers in Edmonton. So far, the Avs are 7-0-0 in back-to-backs. I hope I didn't jinx anything there...

Last night's effort was terrific and much-needed. As an added bonus, it  pissed off the Flames so much that someone allegedly called out Dion Phaneuf. Man, I just hate to see stuff like that happen. The Avalanche showed that, while they aren't the most offensively gifted teams in the league, they can win with hustle, hard work, defensive commitment...Craig Motherfucking Anderson.

Speaking of Anderson, Joe Sacco hasn't named his starter tonight (as of yet). But since Anderson has already started - and won - all of the previous back-to-back starts, I can't imagine Sacco will make a change. I'll update this once Anderson is confirmed a starter has been named. [UPDATE: Budaj is in net tonight. -Joe]   Likewise, no word yet on the status of Adam Foote, T.J. Galiardi, John-Michael Liles, Ruslan Salei, Matt Hendricks, Jimmy Hoffa or that annoying guy in those old Dell commercials. We'll probably have news on at least a few of those guys as the day progresses. (And, since I'm off today, I'll actually be able to make timely updates).

After a solid start to the year, the Oilers are struggling big time. They have just one win in their last 8 games. Unfortunately, I think you all know who that one win came against: the Colorado Avalanche (thanks to, approximately, 87 power play goals). Their possibly-accurate HockeyCentric line combos are here.

I don't know why, but I have a feeling this is going to be a wild one.

Avalanche vs Oilers coverage

The Copper & Blue

Where is Tyler Arnason Today? For some reason, I think it might be fun to keep track of Tyler Arnason as he sleepwalks through Russia. Today, Arnason and his teammates (including Riga captain Sandis Ozolinsh) are in Moscow to take on Spartak.