Severe Weather Report: Edmonton Oilers Get Caught in an Avalanche

The Oilers were blanketed today by an Avalanche of goals. Forgive the puns, they are too hard to resist.

Monday saw a rookie of the year candidate add to his resume with another multi-point game. Matt Duchene grabbed two of the Avalanche's six goals, and had an assist en route to a 6-0 beat down. These scores put Duchene in the lead for points out of all rookies. Matt is just coming off being named rookie of the month in December, and is working on winning the honor again in January.

There was also a first on the ice tonight. Kyle Cumiskey saw his first two-goal night in his young NHL career. Cumiskey got the fourth and fifth goals of the match, coming in the second and third periods.

The Avalanche have a two point lead in the Northwest division, over the rival Calgary Flames. The Flames have kept on the Avs heels in the last 10 games, going 6-2-2, while Colorado has gone 6-4-0.

As the race for the Northwest remains a tight one, the Avs have been needing some help from all areas of the game. They would get that help tonight. The defense accounted for five total points, with one goal and four assists. John-Michael Liles had three of the five defensive points, scoring a goal and getting two assists.

Monday's win also signified goalie Craig Anderson's fourth shutout this season, and his career high 24th win. He has been pivotal in the teams success this year, and looks to keep the team rolling as the season wears on. With how well they are playing right now, they will be tough to stop.