Oilers at Blues preview

OILERS (7-11-2) at BLUES (15-5-1)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SNW, NHL.TV

The Oilers, who have lost four of five (1-3-1) and playing the second of a five-game trip, will have center Connor McDavid in the lineup after he missed practice Monday with the flu.

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Players to watch

McDavid, who coach Todd McLellan said has had the flu for the past week to 10 days, has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past three games but was shut out when the Blues defeated the Oilers 4-1 in Edmonton on Nov. 16.
Center Brayden Schenn has an NHL career-high seven-game point streak (five goals, 10 assists). He is tied with forward Jaden Schwartz for the Blues lead with 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists).

They said it

"We've just got to get pucks in behind them. They're a high, potent offense. They're big, strong guys that defend well as well. They're a good team. There's a reason why they have that record." -- Oilers center Connor McDavid on the Blues
"Awesome. Obviously took a lot longer than expected. Frustrating on everybody's part, but a veteran guy, a calming influence. The list goes on and on about the effect that he'll have." -- Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on Bouwmeester's return

Oilers projected lineup

Pat Maroon -- Connor McDavid -- Drake Caggiula
Milan Lucic -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl
Michael Cammalleri -- Ryan Strome -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Jujhar Khaira -- Mark Letestu -- Zack Kassian
Oscar Klefbom -- Matt Benning
Darnell Nurse -- Adam Larsson
Kris Russell -- Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Iiro Pakarinen, Brad Malone, Yohann Auvitu
Injured: Andrej Sekera (knee), Anton Slepyshev (groin)

Blues projected lineup

Vladimir Sobotka -- Paul Stastny -- Alexander Steen
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Magnus Paajarvi -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Chris Thorburn
Joel Edmundson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Carter Hutton
Scratched:Carl Gunnarsson, Nate Prosser
Injured:Patrik Berglund (shoulder), Zach Sanford (shoulder)

Status report

Gunnarsson is a healthy scratch for the second time this season. The first was for the birth of his daughter. … Talbot will make his 19th start in 21 games.

Stat pack

Nugent-Hopkins has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past six games. ... Schwartz is on a four-game point streak (goal, four assists). Tarasenko has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past seven games.