A brief two-game road trip comes to its conclusion tonight as the Oilers visit the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues. It is the second of three meetings on the season between the sides. St. Louis took the first meeting 5-2 on November 6th at Rogers Place.
The Oilers are coming off of a massive 2-1 victory in Dallas over the Stars on Monday night. It snapped a season long four-game losing streak for the club. Edmonton has not won back-to-back games since November 23rd and 24th when they defeated Vegas and Arizona on the road.
Mikko Koskinen starts for the Oilers, while Jake Allen gets the nod for the Blues.
Keys To The Game:
Edmonton: Structure is so important for this Oilers team. They looked a lot more comfortable and structured on Monday night, and as a result played their best game in weeks. Against an elite Blues team, the Oilers will need more of that structure just to stay in the game.
St. Louis: Clog up the danger areas. The Oilers are a team that can really only score on the powerplay and in transition right now. They simply do not have the personnel to set up lengthy shifts in the offensive zone. The Blues rank fifth in the league in GAA/per game and have done a stellar job defending all season. Clog up the danger areas and this should be a cake walk.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: Adam Larsson has played his best hockey of the season in Edmonton’s last two games. The Oilers will need his big, physical presence on defense tonight. The Blues are a heavy team that can forecheck like demons. Larsson will be key if Edmonton is to win this game.
St. Louis: Ryan O’Reilly does it all. The veteran center has been a monster since being acquired via trade and has cemented himself as the top two-way center in the NHL. He’s made a habit of killing the Oilers over his career as well. O’Reilly likely continues that trend this evening.
The Lines:
No changes for the Oilers after Monday’s win in Dallas. That means Patrick Russell, Markus Granlund and Brandon Manning will be the scratches.
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Joakim Nygard – Connor McDavid – Zack Kassian
James Neal – Leon Draisaitl – Sam Gagner
Jujhar Khaira – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Alex Chiasson
Riley Sheahan – Gaetan Haas – Josh Archibald
Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse – Ethan Bear
Kris Russell – Caleb Jones
Mikko Koskinen
The Blues are without their most dynamic forward, as Vladimir Tarasenko remains on injured reserve. Sammy Blais and Carl Gunnarsson are also on injured reserve, while Ivan Barbashev is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
St. Louis Blues Lines:
Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Zach Sanford – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron
Alex Steen – Robert Thomas – Tyler Bozak
MacKenzie MacEachern – Jacob de la Rose – Oskar Sundqvist
Alex Pietrangelo – Justin Faulk
Jay Bouwmeester – Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn – Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Game Notes:
The good news? Connor McDavid (59) and Leon Draisaitl (57) still are the top two scorers in the NHL as we approach Christmas. The bad news? The Oilers have scored two or less goals in seven of their last ten games. It’s no surprise the club is just 3-6-1 in that span. They need more goals, especially at five-on-five.
The powerplay is on absolute fire right now. Draisaitl’s goal on Monday marked the eighth consecutive game that Edmonton scored on the man advantage. It is the first time they have accomplished that feat since 1999. Right now, the powerplay is the only thing keeping the offense afloat.
The sides will conclude their series on January 31st in Edmonton. The Oilers last trip to St. Louis was not a pretty one. They fell 7-2 on March 19th, with Jordan Schwartz recording his fourth NHL hat trick. Edmonton won the first meeting in St. Louis 3-2 in a shootout on December 5th, 2018.
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