Thursday's game between the St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers will mark a few homecomings.
All eyes will be on Nail Yakupov, who the Oilers traded to the Blues before the start of the season. Yakupov has been widely regarded as a draft bust; the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, the Russian right winger got only 50 goals in 252 games as an Oiler.
In four games with the Blues, Yakupov has a goal and an assist.
"It is weird," Yakupov told Oilers play-by-play man Jack Michaels in a 630 CHED interview. "When I was here, I didn't expect that I would stay in a hotel in this city, because I lived in this city. But, it's different. But, it's really good, now, we have a good team and a good group."
"He is fitting in," said Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo of his new teammate. "It's a different environment coming in -- and new linemates. I think he's playing a pretty hard game. He's created some really good chances. It's new systems for him ... but he's adjusting pretty well."
But it's another Russian who is lighting it up for St. Louis. Vladimir Tarasenko is tied for the league lead with four goals.
And, Thursday will also mark the final time Ken Hitchcock will coach an NHL game in his hometown.
Unless he has a change of heart, Hitchcock, an Edmonton native, is in his final season as a head coach. The Blues visit Rogers Place only once this season.
The Blues have started Hitchcock's final season in blistering fashion. Despite losing 2-1 in overtime in Vancouver on Tuesday night, the Blues are 3-0-1. It marks only the second time in team history that the Blues have earned points in the first four games of a regular season.
Meanwhile, the Oilers have won three of their first four, and scored 17 times in the process. Thursday's game, though, is the team's fourth home game of the season already -- the Oilers have played just one road date.
Because October is filled with so many home games for the Oilers, coach Todd McLellan said a good start to season isn't a want, it's a need.
"Having home games, and needing to put some points in the bank, knowing eventually you've got to go out on the road, we've been able to do that," he said. "I don't think anybody is comfortable yet, so we got some things we really need to work on. It keeps us on our edge, maybe I'm being too critical of our group."
The issue is that the Oilers have scored 17 (most in the Western Conference), but given up 15 (also most in the Western Conference). Each of the four games played so far this season have felt like a return to the Air Hockey Era of the 1980s.
But Oilers goalie Cam Talbot turned in his best performance of the season Tuesday, stopping 31 of 33 shots after giving up six goals in a loss to Buffalo on Sunday .
"I need a big bounce-back game, after the game I had last. As a team, I think that sometimes we let those losses kinda snowball in the past."
On Wednesday, Talbot and his wife welcomed twins to their family.
Oilers defenseman Mark Fayne left Tuesday's win over Carolina with a lower-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve Wednesday and the Oilers called up defenseman Ben Betker from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif. The Oilers did not practice Wednesday.
The Blues placed Jori Lehtera, who hurt his hip Saturday in a win over the New York Rangers, on injured reserve Wednesday, which opens up a roster spot.
Blues • The Blues went 2-1 against Edmonton last season, splitting their two games at the Oilers’ former home, Rexall Place. This is the Blues’ only trip to Edmonton this season and they’ve won at least one game there each of the past seven seasons. … The Blues have never gotten points in their first five games of a season.
Oilers • Through four games, Edmonton is second in goals scored but 21st in goals allowed. … Connor McDavid has three goals and three assists and Leon Draisaitl has two goals and four assists. Goalie Cam Talbot, who has been in goal for all but 10 minutes this season, has a 3-1 record but a 3.93 GAA.
Injuries • Blues — LW Jaden Schwartz (elbow), C Kyle Brodziak (upper body), D Carl Gunnarsson (upper body) are probable. C Jori Lehtera (upper body) is out. Oilers – D Mark Fayne (undisclosed) and G Jonas Gustavsson (concussion) are day-to-day; D Brandon Davidson (upper body), C Drake Caggiula (hip), W Iiro Pakarinen (knee) and W Matt Hendricks (lower body) are out.
This day in history:
1988 Greg Millen records 11th career shutout vs Chicago.
1984 1st time 2 Blues have a hat trick in the same game - Kevin Lavallee and Dave Barr vs Devils.
1968 Jacques Plante named Western Conference Player of the Week.
Oil gives up as many goals as they score. Defense is our religion; Suffocate their Offense, shut down McDavid and we can win this one. If Jake Allen doesn't learn to hold his position, which has been one of the very few kinks in his armor, this could turn out to be a nightmare.
Except for it kind of is. Two wins vs. Calgary, a big loss vs. Sabres and a close one vs. Carolina.
Edmonton 2
Blues 5
Blues 7th in SV% (1 of only 7 teams with a better than .920 SV% in the league right now).
Edmonton 19th worst in SV%
Blues top 6 in GA
Edmonton bottom 10 tied for 7th worst after 4 games. This could actually get worse with their goaltending.
Edmonton, however, is 2nd in GF/GM while the Blues offense is essentially missing at 18th in GF/GM.
So, something has to give. If the Blues hold to the form they are capable of playing in goal and defensively without giving up the odd-man breaks that Edmonton is using to score 4+ goals/game, the Blues should win. The caveat, the Blues offense has to show up for more than the 2 and 1/2 minutes like happened in Vancouver.
With Schwartz back, time for a Tarasenko hat trick!!
St. Louis Blues forward Jaden Schwartz will play his first game of the season after recovering from a hyperextended elbow sustained during practice on Sept. 29. "I got a couple of practices in and it feels good, so we've been looking at this date all along," Schwartz said. "There have been no setbacks and I'm obviously really excited to join the group again." Schwartz will play on the first line with center Alexander Steen and right wing Vladimir Tarasenko. He had eight goals and 14 assists in 33 games last season. "I'm just going to try and keep it simple early and get into the game," he said. "I'm playing with two good players to jump right into it. I'm excited to play with them and just get my feet wet right away, and then start to make plays after that." St. Louis has yet to lose a game in regulation this season. The Blues won their first three games before losing 2-1 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday in the first of a three-game Western Canada road trip. "This team is never satisfied," forward David Perron said. "That's the biggest thing, which is so impressive. We were 3-0 and the next day we had a meeting on what we needed to get better on. It's good, because it would be easy to sit back and say everything is going well."
Oilers team scope
The Edmonton Oilers will face former teammate Nail Yakupov for the first time Thursday. Yakupov, selected No. 1 in the 2012 NHL Draft, was traded to St. Louis on Oct. 7 for prospect forward Zach Pochiro and a conditional third-round pick in the 2017 draft after playing five seasons in Edmonton. "It'll be a little different playing against him," center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "I've known him since he started his career and I got to know him quite well, so seeing him in a different jersey will be a little weird tonight, but for his sake, I hope he does well." Yakupov was Edmonton's third successive No. 1 selection after Taylor Hall in 2010 and Nugent-Hopkins in 2011. "There were high expectations on him, different pressures and stuff, and for him, coming over from Russia too, it's definitely a big change coming to the NHL," Nugent-Hopkins said. "There are ups and downs in everybody's career and you try to manage those, and hopefully from now on, there are a lot of ups for him and I know everybody in here wishes him the best."
Blues projected lineup
Jaden Schwartz -- Alexander Steen -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri -- Paul Stastny -- Nail Yakupov
David Perron -- Patrik Berglund -- Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester -- Alex Pietrangelo
Robert Bortuzzo -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Jake Allen
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Ty Rattie, Magnus Paajarvi
Injured: Jori Lehtera (upper body), Carl Gunnarsson (upper body)
Oilers projected lineup
Milan Lucic -- Connor McDavid -- Jordan Eberle
Benoit Pouliot -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Zack Kassian
Patrick Maroon -- Leon Draisaitl -- Anton Slepyshev
Tyler Pitlick -- Mark Letestu -- Anton Lander
Oscar Klefbom - Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera -- Kris Russell
Darnell Nurse -- Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Jesse Puljujarvi, Ben Betker
Injured: Drake Caggiula (hip), Brandon Davidson (upper body), Andrew Ference (hip), Mark Fayne (lower body), Jonas Gustavsson (head), Matt Hendricks (lower body), Iiro Pakarinen (knee)
Status report
Talbot will start a day after his wife gave birth to twins. He made 31 saves in a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Gustavsson would likely have started in Talbot's place, but he sustained a head injury against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. The Oilers recalled Brossoit from Bakersfield of the American Hockey league to back up Talbot … Edmonton also called up Betker after placing Fayne on injured reserve. Fayne sustained a lower-body injury in the first period Tuesday against Carolina … Hitchcock said Gunnarsson is close to getting back in the lineup and could play as soon as Saturday at the Calgary Flames.
Who's hot
Eberle has three goals and two assists in his first four games. … Draisaitl has two goals and four assists in his first four games. … Steen has a goal and four assists in his first four games. … Tarasenko has four goals and two assists in his first four games.
No kidding on the power play. They enter the zone and the defense just puts pressure on the points and the Blues have nowhere to move the puck, because the guys without it are too busy going to spots or something. Bring back Muller, damn it. This issue would be fixed already, because he wasn't into the stationary power play intro.
