Edmonton Oilers (13-12-2) (6th, Pacific)
St. Louis Blues (9-13-3) (7th, Central)
6:00 PM MST
Enterprise Center
TV: Sportsnet West
Radio: 630 CHED
SB Nation Opponent: St, Louis Game Time
DON’T LEAVE ME THIS WAY
The Edmonton Oilers dropped their last contest by a 4-1 margin to the Stars in Dallas. Four different Stars would light up the scoreboard while Jujhar Khaira was the lone Oiler who managed to solve Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin. Perhaps the most damning? Connor McDavid was out with an illness. Forced to go with an 11F/7D setup, the Oilers were missing the most significant wheel of their offence. It was pretty obvious. The Oilers need McDavid in their lineup, tonight they’ll get that wheel back when they face a team that’s got 9 wins on the year. Can the Oilers put a W on the board in St. Louis?
Let’s go to the tape.
The Oilers are saying
“Got to move on. You’ve got to be able to win games if you’re missing one guy. It’s not the end of the world.”
That’s Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock on having to play his former team without the world’s best player on his roster. I realize that’s a very ‘coach’ thing to say, but the Oilers need to have Connor McDavid in their lineup. Oilers scored six goals in their previous three games with McDavid in the lineup, they can’t afford to have him out even for a minute.
The Blues are saying
We all know what situation we’re in and the key players being out, but at the same time, we’re not using this as an excuse,...This is an opportunity for myself and other guys to step up and try to win some hockey games.
That’s Blues forward Brayden Schenn on his club’s injury woes as of late.
The Blues are without several key players including Alex Pietrangelo, Robby Fabbri and Alexander Steen. Can the Oilers take advantage of a sub-optimal lineup in St. Louis?
HAVE SOME OF THIS
- NET GAINS: Cam Talbot likely gets a start for the Oilers (5-9-1, .889 SV% / 3.29 GAA), while Jake Allen is likely to go for the Blues ((7-7-3, .896 SV% / 3.24 GAA). This is a pretty good opportunity for Talbot to stick his hat back into the race between him and Mikko Koskinen.
- Pat Maroon was a fan favourite in Edmonton. How’s he been doing in St. Louis? He’s got eight points in 19 games, (1-7-8) good for a tie for eleventh with Robert Thomas.
- SCORE A GOAL, GET PROMOTED - Jujhar Khaira scored the team’s only goal on Monday night, he will get some time with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jesse Puljujarvi tonight on line two. Patrick Russell, Ryan Spooner and Ty Rattie will team up on the fourth line.
- SICK BAY: Andrej Sekera (ankle) and Tobias Rieder (face) are out for the Oilers. For the Blues, they’re without Alex Pietrangelo (hand) and Robby Fabbri (shoulder). Carl Gunnarson (upper body) is day-to-day.