Oilers eager to shake off big loss on visit to Blues
The Edmonton Oilers will look to get their Pacific Division title quest back on track when they visit the streaking St. Louis Blues on Friday.
Edmonton is only 4-7-0 in its past 11 games, hardly the look of a team rounding into playoff form. The Oilers won the first two games on their current four-game road trip, but the momentum was sharply halted on Thursday in a 7-2 loss to the Dallas Stars.
It took Dallas less than 27 minutes to build a 5-0 lead in another shaky defensive performance for an Oilers club that has allowed 3.45 goals per game this season.
"We gave [the Stars] a lot of free offense and they're a pretty good team off the rush," Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. "When you do that, it's tough to climb out of a hole."
The Oilers remain three points behind the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division. There is no guarantee, however, that Edmonton can stay in the postseason picture, given the crowded Western Conference playoff race.
St. Louis is still in that race and 10 points behind Edmonton, though five teams remain between Blues and the final West wild-card berth. The Blues have kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a six-game (5-0-1) points streak.
During this hot stretch, forward Jimmy Snuggerud said, the Blues have been operating with "kind of a nothing-to-lose mentality. I think [we're] just coming out each game with energy and just excitement to win hockey games."
A 3-1 victory on Thursday over the Carolina Hurricanes saw the Blues grind out two points against the Eastern Conference's top team. Carolina held a 13-2 shots advantage and a 1-0 lead after the first period, but St. Louis fought back with three unanswered goals.
Snuggerud had both the equalizer and the game-winning goal Thursday, as the rookie forward now has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a streak of four straight games with multiple points.
Snuggerud's 15 goals give him a share of the Blues' team lead, along with Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou. Thomas leads St. Louis in assists (28) and points (43).
Joel Hofer is expected to start in the Blues' net Friday. Hofer has been a big part of the Blues' recent success, as the goalie is 4-0-1 with a .948 save percentage and 1.59 goals against average in his past five starts.
Connor Ingram acted as Tristan Jarry's backup against Dallas, so Ingram should be fine to start Friday. A second-period collision forced Ingram to make an early exit from Tuesday's 4-3 Oilers win over the Colorado Avalanche, but Ingram's presence on the bench Thursday indicated he has been cleared to play.
Connor McDavid leads the NHL in assists (74) and points (110), and McDavid leads Edmonton with 36 goals.
Evan Bouchard has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) during a nine-game points streak. Leon Draisaitl has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) during his seven-game points streak.
The Oilers were playing in the second half of a back-to-back when they recorded a 5-0 win over the Blues in Edmonton on Jan. 18. The Blues topped the Oilers 3-2 on Nov. 3 in Edmonton's previous visit to St. Louis this season.