Season series: David Backes and Vladimir Tarasenko each had a goal and an assist and Jori Lehtera and Barret Jackman had two assists each in the St. Louis Blues' 4-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 13. Benoit Pouliot scored both Oilers goals.
Blues team scope: The Blues did not practice Friday after defeating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in a shootout Thursday. They made one move in their lineup during the game, shifting fourth-line right wing Ryan Reaves to the third line; Reaves had an assist.
"We needed way more weight against who they were defending against," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I thought Ryan really, really helped that line [with Paul Stastny and Patrik Berglund, who scored]. He gave those guys some room and some space. They scored a big goal for us."
After facing the Oilers on Saturday the Blues will conclude the Canada swing of their five-game trip Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks. Goalie Brian Elliott, who made 30 saves Thursday, will start against the Oilers. Defenseman Ian Cole is questionable because of an upper-body injury.
The Blues have won four in a row at Rexall Place.
Oilers team scope: Right wing Nail Yakupov could return to the lineup Saturday after he missed a 2-1 victory at the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday because of a groin injury. Coach Todd Nelson told reporters Friday that Yakupov looks good for Saturday.
"He skated hard and looks like he's back to normal," he said. Nelson said he hasn't decided who will come out of the lineup so Yakupov could play. Yakupov has nine goals and 21 points in 61 games but has four goals and four assists in the past eight games.
Right wing Tyler Pitlick (lacerated spleen) and defenseman Nikita Nikitin (shoulder) practiced but were wearing non-contact jerseys. Defenseman Jeff Petry, the subject of trade rumors ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, could be playing his final game as an Oiler.
"Looks like he's handling it great," Nelson said. "He's come to the rink every day; you could see him on the ice today at practice having fun, working hard. He hasn't brought anything up with me but looks like he's living day-by-day."
The Oilers have scored one goal or fewer in four of their past six home games.
A five-game road swing to open a stretch with 11 of 14 away from home would be a difficult challenge for most clubs. That might not be the case for a St. Louis Blues team that's playing its best hockey on the road.
After opening their trip with a victory, the Blues look to nail down their ninth win in 10 road games Saturday night with their fifth in a row at the Western Conference-worst Edmonton Oilers.
St. Louis (39-18-4) lost some ground in its bid to win the Central Division during a 1-3-0 homestand before getting back on track with Thursday's 2-1 shootout win at Winnipeg.
The Blues, seven points back of NHL-best Nashville in the Central with a game in hand, are 8-1-0 on the road since Jan. 3. That's a trend they hope to continue with only three games in St. Louis until March 28.
"(The road trip) starts another part of the season for us, another chapter," goaltender Brian Elliott told the team's official website after stopping 30 shots Thursday.
Elliott has gone 0-3-0 with a 4.72 goals-against average in his past three home starts, but he's 6-1-0 with a 2.11 mark and one shutout over his last seven on the road. Now the veteran could get an opportunity to improve on his 5-0-0 record and 1.57 GAA in five career starts in Edmonton.
Jake Allen, who had a personal six-game winning streak snapped in Tuesday's 5-2 home loss to Montreal, will likely be in net for one of back-to-back games as St. Louis visits Vancouver on Sunday.
The Blues have dominated the series with Edmonton recently, going 16-2-1 in the last 19 meetings following a 4-2 home win Jan. 13. They've also outscored the Oilers 19-4 while winning the past four at Rexall Place.
Vladimir Tarasenko has played well against the Oilers, finishing with a goal and an assist in each of his last four matchups. The right wing ranks among the league leaders with 31 goals, though he has only three in his past 15 road games.
Jaden Schwartz has only scored once in his last 10 overall, but he's had four goals over his last five versus Edmonton. T.J. Oshie also has contributed two goals and five assists in his past three meetings.
Edmonton (18-34-10) looks to win back-to-back games for just the second time since early November. The Oilers ended a two-game slide with Tuesday's 2-1 victory at previously red-hot Minnesota.
''We come in here and win the game, so for us it's always fun," left wing Benoit Pouliot said. "We've just got to keep it rolling.''
After scoring once over his previous 11 contests, Pouliot provided both goals in the first period. He also had the team's only two scores in the last meeting with the Blues, as the Oilers managed a season-low 15 shots on Allen. Pouliot missed a 4-3 overtime loss at St. Louis on Nov. 28 with a broken foot.
Ben Scrivens allowed four goals on 29 shots in the January loss and is 0-2-1 with a 4.61 GAA in his last three against the Blues, though he's expected to get a chance to build on Tuesday's 33-save performance.
Nail Yakupov could provide a boost for Edmonton if he's able to return after sitting Tuesday due to a groin injury. The winger has four goals and four assists over his last eight games.
2015-2016 LGB Sponsor of Not Ott, because he is a booger-eating dumb dumb
Tough, tough game last night. I'll give it to Edmonton, they've played us tough in all 3 matchups this year. I thought the Berglund/Stastny/Jaskin line was terrific all night, particularly Stastny and Jaskin. In fact, #26 was dishing out beautiful passes all night, we just couldn't cash in on them.
I'm not one to typically worry, but Senko's shooting wide syndrome is starting to concern me. I don't know he's aiming and thus firing wide or what, but he needs to get out of his head. The Lehterasenko line looked good and was creating chances but they just couldn't quite put it all together.
2015-2016 LGB Sponsor of Not Ott, because he is a booger-eating dumb dumb
dmiles2186 wrote:Tough, tough game last night. I'll give it to Edmonton, they've played us tough in all 3 matchups this year. I thought the Berglund/Stastny/Jaskin line was terrific all night, particularly Stastny and Jaskin. In fact, #26 was dishing out beautiful passes all night, we just couldn't cash in on them.
I'm not one to typically worry, but Senko's shooting wide syndrome is starting to concern me. I don't know he's aiming and thus firing wide or what, but he needs to get out of his head. The Lehterasenko line looked good and was creating chances but they just couldn't quite put it all together.
Dear Hitch:
Leave the damn lines alone.
Signed, Oaklandblue
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