Oilers Gameday – @ Blues

The Edmonton Oilers continue a killer road trip tonight in St. Louis for the first half of back-to-back games, and the third and final meeting with the Blues. St. Louis won the first two battles, including a 5-2 victory at Rexall Place back in January. This will be the only meeting in St. Louis, and the first game that David Perron plays in his former home city.

The Oilers are coming off of a 4-3 shootout victory in Minnesota on Tuesday night, that saw the team comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the first period. The team also saw defender Oscar Klefbom make his NHL debut, and while he struggled in the first period, he came along quite well during the game. Sam Gagner suffered an ankle injury on Tuesday night, forcing an emergency recall of Anton Lander, although Gagner is expected to play. The lineup is expected to remain the same.

The Blues went all in for a Stanley Cup the Friday before the deadline, acquiring star goalie Ryan Miller and forward Steve Ott from the Buffalo Sabres for a large package that included Chris Stewart and Jaroslav Halak. The Blues are coming off of a 3-2 OT loss against the Stars on Tuesday night, but have been on fire recently. The Blues are a healthy squad right now as well, and are looking to cement the number one seed out west.

Ben Scrivens gets back in between the pipes for Edmonton, while Ryan Miller is expected to get the call for St. Louis.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers key tonight has to be to use their speed. The Blues are one of the best defensive teams in hockey, and can shut any team down with relative ease. For Edmonton to even have a chance tonight, they’ll need to use their speed on the Blues defenders and attempt to make this a back-and-forth game.

St. Louis: The Blues must use physical play tonight to disrupt the Oilers attack, and they certainly have the guns to do so. The Blues have a ton of unreal defenders that can play the body, and a number of big forwards that love contact. If they can play to their strength against this Oilers team, there is no stopping the Blues.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Oilers forward David Perron is having a career year and is making his first return trip to St. Louis, his first NHL home. Perron has stepped up in a big way this season, and it would be almost fitting that he steps up tonight in his first game back. He’s starting to find his scoring touch again, and I am expecting him to find the back of the net tonight against his old mates.

St. Louis: Blues forward TJ Oshie had his pro hockey coming out party in Sochi with his tremendous shoot-out performance for the USA in their win over Team Russia. Oshie has had another good NHL season this year, and has been playing great hockey since returning. The Oilers struggle with big skilled forwards, and this one has a ton of confidence right now. You do the math.

Gameday Prediction:

The Oilers really struggle against top teams with big players, and that is exactly what the Blues are. St. Louis has owned Edmonton the last few seasons, but I get an odd feeling the Oilers will hang around tonight. It won’t be enough to get a win however, as the Blues win 3-2 in overtime.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner- Nail Yakupov

David Perron – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Jesse Joensuu

Luke Gazdic – Ryan Smyth – Ryan Jones

Oscar Klefbom – Andrew Ference

Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry

Mark Fraser – Justin Schultz

Ben Scrivens

St. Louis Blues Lines:

Alex Steen – David Backes – TJ Oshie

Jaden Schwartz – Patrik Berglund – Vladimir Tarasenko

Vlad Sobotka – Derek Roy – Steve Ott

Magnus Paajarvi – Max Lapierre – Ryan Reaves

Alex Pietroangelo – Jay Bouwmeester

Kevin Shattenkirk – Barret Jackman

Ian Cole – Roman Polak

Ryan Miller