BLUES
While the month of March carried some difficult stretches, the St. Louis Blues hope to have weathered the storm and are entering the final month of the season on a high note.
Winning their second in a row against a Vancouver squad desperate to stay in the Playoff hunt, the Blues were scoring goals in a wide variety of ways to complete the season sweep.
Nick Leddy fired in his first goal as a Blue with a laser from the point in 5-on-5 play, Robert Thomas beat goaltender Thatcher Demko on a stellar shorthanded breakaway, and Ryan O'Reilly finished a crucial power play with precision and force.
This balance of scoring is vital as the Blues gear up for the stretch run. In most years, the regular season would be wrapping up in about 10 days, but with the altered schedule this season, 16 games still remain in the 2021-22 campaign.
The Blues will open April with a road battle against another team in the Western Conference Playoff race, the Edmonton Oilers. Friday's bout opens a back-to-back set that concludes with another strong conference opponent in Calgary.
The Blues took back third place in the Central Division standings on Wednesday night, moving to 83 points on the season and a record of 37-20-9.
OILERS
The last time the Edmonton Oilers met with the Blues, their 4-2 loss on Dec. 29 was the first of a seven-game losing streak that culminated in a 6-0 home loss to the Florida Panthers.
After that low point, the Oilers were able to get back on track, immediately entering a six-game point streak as well as winning five in a row just after the All-Star break.
The Oilers will also be playing with confidence after winning two in a row against the Coyotes and Kings this week.
Their win against the Kings - now leading the Oilers by just a single point in the Pacific Division standings - saw goals from the Oilers' world-class duo in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, currently first and second in the NHL in points this season.
A 3-3 tie exiting the second period held through the third and overtime, with Draisaitl and McDavid both converting their shootout attempts to seal the win.
"Both teams knew what was at stake," Draisaitl said of the Playoff-like atmosphere in Edmonton on Wednesday. "We want to make this building a tough one for other teams to come and play in, and I think we've done a good job of that lately."
The Oilers have now won eight consecutive games on home ice at Rogers Place and are ready to give the Blues a true test in their focus and determination.
Edmonton looks to build their lead on Vegas for third place in the Pacific while also chasing down Los Angeles for second, with a record of 38-25-5 and 81 points as the seventh overall seed in the Western Conference.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues have split the season series with Edmonton thus far, going 1-1-0 in two matchups at Enterprise Center. The Oilers scored with less than 30 seconds left in regulation to win 5-4 on Nov. 14, but the Blues controlled most of the game on Dec. 29 to win 4-2.
The Blues are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games against the Oilers, and 3-2-0 in their last five trips to Edmonton.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Pavel Buchnevich, who eclipsed his career-best mark for points in a season in the March 26 loss to Carolina. In his first season as a Blue, Buchnevich has 21 goals and 30 assists (51 points).
OILERS Connor McDavid, who enters Friday's matchup with exactly 100 points on the season to lead the NHL. No. 97 continues to set the League on fire, reaching 100 points for the fifth time in his career and recording multi-point games in nine of his last 11.
BLUE NOTES
O'Reilly's goal against the Canucks was his first in 41 career games vs. Vancouver... O'Reilly's seven power-play goals this year are his most in a season as a Blue... Nathan Walker scored his sixth NHL goal of the season for his second game-winning goal since being recalled from Springfield on March 22... The Blues feature eight different players with at least four power-play goals this season - Brandon Saad, Buchnevich, Ivan Barbashev, David Perron, O'Reilly, Brayden Schenn, Jordan Kyrou, Vladimir Tarasenko). By comparison, the team only had four such scorers last season.
Connor McDavid already has become the first NHL player this season to reach the 100-point mark -- for the fifth time in his career -- and Leon Draisaitl needs one more goal to earn his second career 50-goal season.
But the Edmonton Oilers head into Friday's home date with the St. Louis Blues looking for to continue a more important run of rarified air.
Having won eight straight games at home, the latest a 4-3 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, another victory would tie for the longest home-ice run in franchise history and loom large in Edmonton's push up the Pacific Division standings. The Oilers head into the clash sitting third in the division, but division leading-Calgary Flames and the second-place Kings are not out of reach.
"That is something that needed to improve from over the last couple of years. So far this season we have done that," Draisaitl said. "We want to make this building a tough building for other teams to come in to and a hard building to play in. I think we have done a good job of that lately."
To no surprise, Draisaitl and McDavid have been leading the way. McDavid has collected eight goals and 13 assists during an 11-game point streak. Draisaitl, who has collected eight goals during a five-game goal streak and 11 in his last 10 outings, is in the chase for the goal-scoring title.
"The rate that both are scoring at, and the consistency that they bring every single night putting up points is impressive," defenseman Cody Ceci said. "That is what kind of drew me here in the summertime (as a free agent), the chance to play with these guys and see how far we can go."
The Blues arrive in Edmonton on the heels of claiming both halves of a home-and-home series with the Vancouver Canucks. St. Louis claimed a 4-3 road victory on Wednesday to kick off a three-game road swing that ends with a clash against the Flames on Saturday.
The Blues have an impressive 13-3-2 record against Pacific Division teams this season, but they are happier about drumming up consecutive wins after posting a 3-6-3 run prior to meeting the Canucks. Vancouver appears to be fading from the playoff picture, but positive momentum is important.
"And it's a good time to be doing it," said defenseman Nick Leddy, whose goal in Vancouver was his first since being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline. "But we have some very good teams up ahead, and looking forward to the challenges."
Wednesday's win was tighter than it should have been, with Vancouver's Elias Pettersson scoring a late goal to bring the hosts within one and setting up a frantic finish. Nonetheless, the Blues believe they are putting their game back in order after a difficult few weeks and are back in the hunt for home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"Something to build on for sure," forward David Perron said. "We got to (win) like four or five in a row before we start thinking that we got something going here."
Blues forward Jordan Kyrou returned to practice Thursday after he missed Wednesday's game due to illness, but there is no word on whether he will play Friday. Kyrou leads St. Louis with 62 points.
