Preview: Blues at Oilers

When: Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB
Watch: TNT, MAX
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUES The St. Louis Blues are back at it, looking to rebound after a 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

Winnipeg blitzed the Blues early, taking a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. Brandon Saad scored to bring it within one, but Alex Iafallo would convert on a rebound, putting the game out of reach.

The Blues have continued to fall victim to slow starts. They haven't led after the first period since Feb. 11 in Montreal. In their seven games since, they've been outscored 12-3 in the opening frame.

"It's tough to get behind," Justin Faulk said after the game. "It's tough to chase the game always, right? I thought the guys did a good job in the second period to come back, get one and give us a chance going into the third. We probably just didn't have as much of a push there in the third as we needed. They were able to capitalize and really take control at that point."

The Blues (30-26-2) have been tumbling recently, losing four of their last five games. Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators, who overtook the Blues for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, have won six in a row and now hold a six-point lead over St. Louis in the standings.

After returning from Edmonton, the Blues come back to Enterprise Center on Saturday for a date with the Minnesota Wild before leaving again for a five-game east-coast road trip.

OILERS The Edmonton Oilers had an excellent January, going undefeated and riding a 16-game win streak into the All-Star break. February, however, has not been as kind. Edmonton is 5-5-1 since the break, giving up a lot of goals in the process.

The Oilers are a high-tempo team. They rank third in shots per game (33.6) and fifth in goals per game (3.6). Lately however, that pace has come at the expense of the defense. Since the All-Star break, the Oilers have the lowest save percentage (.865) and third-highest goals against average (4.00) in the NHL. 

Edmonton wanted to get back to basics Monday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers had lost three in a row, so they needed to bounce back in a big way against a divisional rival. 

The Kings took a 2-1 lead in the second period, but a power-play goal from Leon Draisaitl tied the game at two. The Oilers' power play - led by the three-headed monster of Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard - operates at a league-high 34.9% at home. 

Later goals from Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would be too much for the Kings to come back from, and Edmonton won 4-2.

"It was definitely a good time for a game like this," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Just to simplify our game...The way that we were trending a little bit, we wanted to simplify our game a lot. We talk about it all the time in here. I thought (Monday) we had to do it, and we did a good job of it."

With the win, the Oilers (34-20-2) moved two points ahead of the Kings, jumping to third in the Pacific Division, one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights.

HEAD TO HEAD The Blues won their only matchup with the Oilers 6-3 on Feb. 15 at Enterprise Center. They'll play one more time on April 1 in St. Louis.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Jake Neighbours, who played junior hockey in Edmonton, had a goal and two assists when the Oilers came to St. Louis earlier this month.

OILERS Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist against the Kings. Draisaitl, who ranks No. 11 in the NHL in points (73), has eight in his last five games.

BLUE NOTES

• Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong is two wins away from his 800th win as a GM. He could reach the milestone as soon as Saturday, making him one of 11 GMs in NHL history to do so.
• The Blues are 2-3-0 on the second night of back-to-back games this season.
• With two assists Monday, McDavid now has points in 23 straight home games. In fact, he's only been held scoreless at home once this season: Nov. 2 against the Dallas Stars. McDavid has 13 goals, 46 assists and a +20 rating in 27 home games this season.
• With two assists Monday, McDavid now has 91 points this season. He is now just the sixth player in NHL history with at least eight consecutive seasons of 90+ points.
• Bouchard, who scored Monday's game-winner, has 15 goals this season. He is tied with Mackenzie Weegar of the Calgary Flames for the most goals by a defenseman.