Of course Kris Knoblauch wants more of the same from Sunday. That’s when the head coach saw his Edmonton Oilers players put in a sound defensive effort – blocking shots, getting sticks in lanes, hard work and solid goaltending – in a win over the Vegas Golden Knights to start a four-game road trip. But Knoblauch also wants what helps win games: scoring, and that means handling the puck more than the opponent. “We’ve got to be better with our passes and, in the offensive zone, not give pucks away on low-percentage plays,” he told reporters after the Oilers’ morning skate ahead of their Tuesday night game in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche (8 p.m. MT). I think that a lot of that – spending time the offensive zone, especially for teams that defend well – you have to be a little more patient and not force things." Following Wednesday’s game, the Oilers will finish their journey against the Dallas Stars on Thursday and the St. Louis Blues on Friday before returning home to face the Nashville Predators on Sunday. It’s Colorado and Dallas, the National Hockey League’s top two teams in the overall standings heading into Tuesday’s game, that present the biggest challenge to Edmonton, the coach said. “Colorado tonight, where they are really good is at five-on-five, just how much scoring depth they have,” said Knoblauch. “They’ve got some of the best offensive players, but throughout their lineup, they’re very dangerous, and a lot of that starts with their defence, all six of them being able to move pucks and help contribute with their offence.” The Avalanche feature star centre Nathan MacKinnon, who sits four points behind the Oilers’ Connor McDavid for the NHL scoring lead, winger Martin Necas (seventh in the NHL with 76 points off 28 goals and 48 assists) and Cale Makar, who along with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski, is second among NHL defencemen in scoring with 66 points behind the Oilers’ Evan Bouchard, who has 73. “Their recipe for success is a lot of speed attacking off the rush, so I think minimizing turnovers and playing deep in their zone is going to benefit us,” said Jason Dickinson, the shutdown centre tasked with limiting MacKinnon’s line who joined the Oilers last week just before the NHL trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks. Crude remarks
