GDT #14: Blues vs Oilers | 6:00 pm CT | BSMW, 101 ESPN

[theohall]

TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues dropped a 3-2 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night in Raleigh.

Pavel Buchnevich and Vladimir Tarasenko scored for the Blues to erase a 2-0 deficit thanks to two assists from Robert Thomas, but with the game tied 2-2 late in the third period, Brendan Smith scored the go-ahead goal with 2:57 remaining to seal the win for Carolina.

"It was a good game, a tight game, but you hate giving up that goal late in the third period like that," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said. "I thought the second half of the game, we looked really good. In the end, you've got to find a way to get three goals."

"These were two big games for us, back-to-back with (some of) the best records in the League," Tarasenko said of facing Carolina on Saturday and Edmonton on Sunday in St. Louis. "It's sad when you lose, but we played well (Saturday) and this is a quick turnaround. We need to get ready for tomorrow."

The Blues are 1-0 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season.

OILERS The Edmonton Oilers are 1-2-0 on their current five-game road trip and come to St. Louis on the heels of a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.

Leon Draisaitl scored both goals for Edmonton to increase his League-leading goal total to 14 in the loss, which dropped the Oilers to 10-3-0 on the season. Draisaitl has seven goals and four assists in his last five games. He also has factored in on 52.1 percent of Edmonton's goals this season, the most of any player in that category in the League.

Connor McDavid factored in on 47.2 percent of Edmonton's goals, ranking fifth in the NHL.

Edmonton is without Zack Kassian, Devin Shore and Mike Smith as all three players deal with lower-body injuries.

HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues will meet the Oilers for the first time in 653 days (Jan. 31, 2020). St. Louis is 3-0-1 in their last four meetings with Edmonton at Enterprise Center.

David Perron has 22 points and a plus-14 rating in 36 career games against the Oilers, while Brandon Saad has netted 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) and a plus-11 rating in 22 games vs. Edmonton.

The Blues have managed to keep McDavid in check since his arrival in the NHL in 2015. McDavid has just three goals in 15 career games against St. Louis.

The Edmonton Oilers will look to restore their defensive order Sunday when they visit the St. Louis Blues.

After starting the season 9-1-0, the Oilers have lost two of their last three games -- including their 3-2 defeat at Buffalo on Friday. They outshot the Sabres 35-23 but yielded too many high-quality scoring chances.

"We allowed them to score easy goals and we chased the game the whole night," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "We didn't play very smart. "We gave them four breakaways and they scored on three of them. That's not a recipe for success.

"It's disappointing that we played the way we did and allowed them the opportunities they got. There was some effort there, but we just didn't play very smart."

Fatigue played a factor Friday as the Oilers played for the third time in four games.

"You get into a tough situation, whether you don't have your legs that night or you're not as good as you want to be, it's still not an excuse for not winning," Tippett said. "You have to have the mindset that you'll do whatever it takes to win."

The Blues fell 3-2 at Carolina on Saturday night for just their third regulation loss in 13 games. They must come right back Sunday and face the Oilers at home.

"Last two periods we played pretty well," said Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who has scored in consecutive games after a five-game goal drought. "These are two big games for us, back-to-back against teams with one of the best records in the league. Obviously (you're) upset when you lose, but they played well, and this is a quick turnaround to get ready for tomorrow."

The Blues will play their seventh game in the last 12 days.

"It's a long calendar year," said winger David Perron. "For sure there's going to be ups and downs. It's the first time we play 82 games in the last three years really. Definitely a little bit more challenging for a lot of guys."

Oilers superstar Connor McDavid will carry a season-opening 13-game point streak (nine goals, 16 assists) into this game. Forward Leon Draisaitl had this sixth two-goal game on Friday.

"We (face) two of the best players in the world," Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo said. "Good challenge for us. It could be something our group needs right now."

The Oilers will likely start goaltender Mikko Koskinen (8-1-0, 2.59 goals-against average) after playing rookie Stuart Skinner on Friday.

Edmonton forward Zack Kassian (lower-body injury) is questionable for this game while forward Devin Shore (lower-body injury) and goaltender Mike Smith (leg injury) remain sidelined by weeks-long injuries.

The Blues will likely start Jordan Binnington (6-2-2, 2.58 ERA) in goal after playing rookie Joel Hofer Saturday.

Blues forwards Oskar Sundqvist (knee surgery) and Brayden Schenn (upper-body injury) have been on injured reserve, and defensemen Torey Krug and Niko Mikkola and winger Kyle Clifford remain on the COVID-19 list.

[theohall]

Dear JK, the Blues didn't "let McDavid get free". The Oilers blatantly interfered to get McDavid free and didn't get called for it. That's not on the Blues defensively, that's on the refs not calling the game.

[theohall]

It'd be nice to move on from James "can't finish the deal" Neal, but, that's not going to happen until Schenn comes back, and then, someone who should be on the 2nd PP, won't be, due to Neal's experience, even if experience isn't helpful when you can't flipping finish and the team is feeding you pucks to finish.

[theohall]

What's with the Blues forwards disappearing up ice late in tie games? I don't get it. I get trying to win, but I don't get bailing out on your defenseman after one of the three turns the puck over.