PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Avalanche (Game 1)

News and notes from Monday’s Western Conference Final media availability, including the journeys of the Oilers and Avalanche to the third round by building brick by brick through previous setbacks.

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DENVER, CO – There’s no shortage of intriguing sub-plots when it comes to the 2022 Western Conference Final.

The Oilers vs. Colorado Avalanche series, of course, features two of the most explosive, prolific players in the world in former first-overall picks Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon – plus the co-scoring leader of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and a former league MVP in Leon Draisaitl.

Then you’ve got Tyson Barrie, who played his first eight professional seasons with the Avalanche organization and developed lasting friendships with many of Colorado’s marquee players. The Oilers blueliner will get a chance to compete for a spot in the Stanley Cup Final against some of his best friends.

There’s Zach Hyman, who will square off against a former mentor from his time as an up-and-coming forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs in Nazem Kadri, who was — appropriately enough — traded to Colorado in exchange for Barrie on July 1, 2019.

And from friends to family, there’s the father-son duo of Dave and Josh Manson, who find themselves on opposing sides of this conference championship showdown — the father as Edmonton’s assistant coach and the son as a shut-down defenceman for the Avalanche.

Plenty of storylines for fans of both squads to keep tabs on starting with tonight’s Game 1.

BARRIE’S OLD BUDS

The 30-year-old Barrie was selected 64th overall by the Avalanche in 2009 and averaged 49 points per season between 2013-14 and 2018-19 as the team’s go-to offensive defenceman.

Video: PRE-RAW | Tyson Barrie 05.31.22

Since he was traded to Toronto in 2019 and signed with the Oilers in 2020, he’s faced off against his former Avalanche teammates several times, though never in the playoffs until tonight.

“Enough time has passed now that I’ve played them a couple times and the weirdness of it has kind of left,” Barrie said Tuesday morning. “I’m an Oiler now and ready for a hard-fought series.”

The blueliner, who had 41 points 73 regular season games plus four more in the playoffs thus far, developed an immediate bond with MacKinnon after the Nova Scotia native was the team’s first-overall pick in 2013. Barrie has photos of himself and MacKinnon on his Instagram profile as far back as October 2013 and as recent as last summer.

“He’s a really good friend of mine,” MacKinnon said Monday of squaring off against his buddy. “A few of us have played with Tys, but it’s all business… It might have been a little more weird right when he got traded, but I’ve been playing against him for a while now so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

Video: THE OTHER SIDE | MacKinnon, Landeskog 05.30.22

Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog was with Barrie for all eight of his seasons as a member of the Avalanche organization and spoke fondly of his former teammate on Monday.

“I think it’s pretty well-documented how loved Tys was in this city and our locker room,” said Landeskog, who even had a bit of a Freudian slip as he continued. “We love Tys and Tys had a lot of success here. We’re looking forward to playing with him, or against him, I should say.”

KEEPING UP WITH KADRI

From former Colorado teammates to former Toronto teammates, Hyman said he’s looking forward to waging war against fellow power forward Kadri, who he said provided valuable veteran leadership during their time with the Leafs.

“Lots of memories,” said Hyman, who made his NHL debut in 2015-16 and suited up alongside Kadri until the trade to Colorado that involved Barrie following the 2018-19 campaign. 

“We played together for a while starting from when I was a rookie. Just a great guy and a great teammate. We had a really young team and he was a guy who took care of the young guys and made sure we were comfortable. I’m good friends with him.”

Video: PRE-RAW | Zach Hyman 05.31.22

Kadri’s top point total before this season was 61 in 2016-17, but he enjoyed an offensive explosion in 2021-22 with 28 goals and 59 assists, ranking right up there with MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar among Colorado’s top scorers. Add in his tenacious physical presence and he’s a player the Oilers know they’ll have to watch out for this series.

“He brings a lot to the table,” Hyman said. “He plays with a ton of emotion and passion, which is something that you always want in a teammate. He just brings it every night, plays a 200-foot game, both ends of the ice, and is hard to play against.”

THE MANSON FAMILY

He’s never played for the Oilers, but the first NHL locker room Josh Manson set foot in was Edmonton’s.

His father Dave was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Oilers on Oct. 2, 1991 and Josh was born just five days later. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector told Josh during Tuesday’s team press conferences that he remembers him running around the Oilers room as a toddler as father Dave suited up for Edmonton over the next three seasons.

Josh said his memory unfortunately doesn’t go back that far, but he has watched some of his dad’s old games and has tried to incorporate some of his punishing style of defending into his play.

Video: THE OTHER SIDE | Mikko Rantanen, Josh Manson 05.31.22

“He was somebody that defended hard in front of his own net and that’s something I try to take into my game,” Josh said of Dave, who suited up for more than 1,200 NHL regular season and playoff games between 1986 and 2002. “We skate very similar, I’ve heard. I try to play that tough, hard-nosed style of game that he did so extremely well back in the day.”

The family was able to spend some time together in Denver after Monday’s Oilers practice, giving Dave an opportunity to hang out with his two-year-old granddaughter Gemma.

“They played a bunch and she was all over him, it was great,” Josh said.

He was then asked whether Gemma is cheering for dad’s Avalanche or grandpa’s Oilers.

“She better be pulling for me,” Josh laughed. “She does love her grandpa, but she better be pulling for me or we’re going to have words.” 

The 30-year-old said he and his dad don’t plan on altering their communication during the series despite their teams battling it out for a spot in the Cup Final.

“Family comes first, that’s been my dad’s motto always,” he said. “We talk hockey, but it’s never about each other’s teams or personal things, so the relationship really doesn’t need to change. He’ll be there for me and I’ll be there to talk to him, but there’ll be no lines crossed. We’ll keep our secrets to ourselves, but we’ll still have that good relationship.”

LINEUP NOTES

The Oilers held an optional morning skate on Tuesday so there were no lineup adjustments to be gleaned, but if Monday’s full-team practice was any indication, the team will likely stick with the same formation they deployed during Game 5 of the Battle of Alberta series:

Draisaitl – McDavid – Hyman Kane – RNH – YamamotoFoegele – McLeod – PuljujarviArchibald – Ryan – Kassian

Nurse – CeciKeith – BouchardKulak – Barrie

SmithKoskinen

— Ryan Frankson, EdmontonOilers.com

OILERS vs. AVALANCHE

STREAM: 6:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet & CBC

Oilers Team Scope

The Edmonton Oilers will contest the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2006 after defeating their rivals the Calgary Flames in five games during the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Oilers erased a 2-0 deficit in Game 5, earning their fourth multi-goal comeback win in a potential series-clinching game in franchise history when Connor McDavid took a pass from Leon Draisaitl at the half boards and buried the series winner off the post from the slot during overtime.

Led offensively by McDavid (3G, 9A) and Draisaitl (2G, 15A) in the second round, the Dynamic Duo became the sixth & seventh instance of a player having 26 points or more through their first 12 games of a post-season.

After suffering through playoff disappointment in the last two seasons with first-round exits, the Oilers are finding key goals at key times and kept their foot on the gas pedal despite adversity — exemplified in their 3-2 series deficit to the Kings in Round 1 and their opening 9-6 loss to the Flames in Game 1 of the Battle of Alberta.

Video: RAW | Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl 05.30.22

“I think we’ve scored goals at the right times this season. Sometimes that’s just the way the playoffs work,” Draisaitl said. “Last year it just seemed like we could never score at the right times, and there were other things that we didn’t do well last season for us to advance. Maybe things that we’re doing better, we’re sticking through it even if we’re down a goal or down a game, whatever it is.

“We’re just kind of sticking with it and just going about our game the same way every single shift. I think we’ve taken big steps in that regard, and obviously we’re going to have to show that this series.”

This is not the same Oilers team in both belief and personnel in comparison to year’s past, and now they prepare for their biggest challenge yet in the 56-win Avalanche who will deploy their own dynamic options in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar alongside the likes of Mikko Rantanen and goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

“I think every team that makes it this far to the Conference Finals has a bit of swagger to them, has confidence to them, and it’s no different with us. We’re a confident group, Draisaitl said. “I’m sure they’re a confident group over there, so it should be some great hockey and two really good teams going at it as I said. I think we’re all very excited to get it going.”

Avalanche Team Scope

The Avalanche were far and away the top side of the Western Conference during the regular season with a 56-19-7 record.

But after a sweep of the Nashville Predators in the first round and a six-game defeat of the St. Louis Blues, they’ll have to prove it in the playoffs against Edmonton in the Western Conference Final — a place the Avalanche haven’t been since 2002 when current General Manager Joe Sakic was captain of the club. 

The Sakic era in Colorado has given way to MacKinnon and Makar, who present a strong counter to Edmonton’s Dynamic Duo in McDavid and Draisaitl.

“There’s a lot to like, obviously,” McDavid said of MacKinnon. “He skates really well, he’s strong, he plays the game at top speed all the time, and he makes it tough to defend.”

Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 05.31.22

The Avalanche, however, saw 17 of their 21 skaters who suited up in the second round record at least a point, while eight different skaters this post-season have scored game-winning goals for Colorado after Darren Helm notched the series-winning dagger on St. Louis with six seconds remaining in Game 6.

“They’re a good team over there,” McDavid added. “They’ve proven that over the last couple of years, and obviously this year was no different. They’ve got some really special players, they’re deep all around. A real good team.”

When you add Kuemper in the crease the Avalanche are one of the league’s deepest teams and have earned their place in the final four of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

By The Numbers

This will be the third playoff series all-time between the Oilers & Avalanche and first since 1998… Each team has won a series vs. the other team (1997 Conf. SF – Avalanche & 1998 Conf. QF – Edmonton)… The Oilers have won three of their last four road playoff games vs. Colorado… This will be the fifth series in Stanley Cup Playoffs history with both teams averaging at least 4.30 goals per game… The Avalanche went 2-1-0 in three games vs. the Oilers during the regular season despite getting outscored 9-7… The Oilers won the most recent meeting vs Avalanche 6-3 on April 22…

The Oilers have won six of their last seven playoff games since facing elimination in Game 6 in the First Round vs. LA… The Oilers have scored at least five goals in six of their 12 games this post-season… The Oilers have lost both Game 1’s this post-season (4-3 in First Round vs. the Kings & 9-6 in Second Round vs. the Flames)… The Oilers have lost four straight playoff Game 1’s and are 1-6 in their last seven such games… The Oilers are 6-0 this postseason when scoring first… They were 29-3-1 when scoring first during the regular season… Edmonton is 4-2 on the road this post-season… They have scored at least four goals in five of those six games… 

Video: RAW | Darnell Nurse, Mike Smith 05.30.22

McDavid has 26 points (7G, 19A) in 12 games this post-season and 20 points (6G, 14A) during an eight-game point streak… Draisaitl’s 17 points in the Second Round were tied with Rick Middleton in 1983 for the most points in NHL history through five games of a single playoff series… The German has 22 points (4G, 18A) during an eight-game point streak… He set the NHL playoff record for most consecutive games with three-plus points at five (2G, 15A)… If he records three-plus points in Game 1, he can tie the longest streak in NHL history (regular season or playoffs)…

Evander Kane leads all players this post-season with 12 goals… Zach Hyman scored a goal in each of the five games vs. the Flames in the Second Round to become the first player in franchise history to score at least a goal in each of the first five games of a series… Mike Smith leads the 2022 playoffs with two shutouts… Only Curtis Joseph had more in a single postseason in Oilers history (three in 1998)… Smith is making his third Conference Finals appearance with his third team (2011 with the Lightning & 2012 with the Coyotes)…

The Avalanche are 7-0 this post-season when they record 37+ shots on goal (averaging 39.8 shots per game)… The Avalanche have lost two straight home games in the playoffs… Colorado has 40 points (10G, 30A) from their defencemen this post-season — 10 more than Edmonton… Nathan MacKinnon has 13 points (8G, 5A) in 10 games this post-season… He needs one goal to match his career-high for a single postseason with nine goals in 2020… His 25 playoff goals are the second-most in the NHL since 2020… Cale Makar had three points (3A) in six games vs. the Blues in the Second Round after having 10 points (3G, 7A) in four games in the First Round vs. the Predators… Darcy Kuemper is 6-2-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average & .904 save percentage in nine starts this post-season… He has allowed two goals or less in six of his nine starts this post-season…

Injury Report

OILERS – Kyle Turris (undisclosed) is on IR; Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR.

AVALANCHE – Samuel Girard (fractured sternum) is day-to-day; Ryan Murray (fractured hand) is day-to-day.

— Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com