The Edmonton Oilers are in town for a Western Conference matchup as the Colorado Avalanche continue their five-game homestand. The Oilers will play their second game of a back-to-back tonight after taking a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild.

Connor McDavid scored in his return from a three-game suspension, Mattias Janmark scored for the first time in 38 games, and Mattias Ekholm scored into an empty net.

The Oilers need to sign both Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard to long-term deals this summer, but could they also fit in Mikko Rantanen?

The Edmonton Oilers will face the Colorado Avalanche in this NHL matchup at Ball Arena on Thursday, January 16th.WATCH: Oilers vs Avalanche Live | Stream free on FuboThe Oilers are second in the Pacific Division with a 28-13-3 record.

First Period_1, Colorado, O'Connor 6 (Kiviranta, Rantanen), 5:17. 2, Colorado, MacKinnon 16 (de Haan, Drouin), 10:04. 3, Colorado, MacKinnon 17 (Toews), 11:48. 4 ...

The Carolina Hurricanes made waves on Friday night with the acquisition of Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado and Rantanen were at an impasse when it came to contract negotiations.

This in from NHL insider Andy Strickland of St. Louis, his prediction on the Cam & Strick podcast that the Edmonton Oilers will sign Mikko Rantanen this summer. Rantanen, who is in the Top 10 NHL players, was recently traded from Colorado to Carolina, essentially for forward Martin Necas. Rantanen is an Unrestricted Free Agent this summer.

Rantanen has been an essential member of the Avalanche's core since arriving in 2015-16, having won the Stanley Cup in 2021-22. Widely regarded as one of the NHL's premier offensive talents, he stands among the league's top five scorers over the last five seasons.

While the Oilers currently have $5 million of available cap space, Edmonton will need to re-sign McDavid and defenseman Evan Bouchard to contract extensions this and next summer. That, however, won't be a problem for the Oilers in Strickland's eyes.

Draisaitl leads the league with 35 goals, while his 75 points on the year have him closing in on the only player with more, Nathan Mackinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (77). The fact he’s not even considered the Oilers’ best player is icing on Edmonton’s cake.

The Colorado Avalanche trading star Mikko Rantanen signifies a change in their team-building approach from front-loading their squad to improving their depth.

That was one way to wrap up a Friday night.