Oilers at Blues preview

OILERS (19-13-4) at BLUES (21-8-6)
8:30 p.m. ET; SN, FS-MW, NHL.TV

The Blues, who have outscored opponents 13-7 in three straight wins, are 7-3-0 in their past 10 games.
Goalie Jake Allen will start for the Blues for the first time since Dec. 10.
The Oilers ended a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) with a 2-1 victory at the Dallas Stars on Monday. They are 3-6-1 in their past 10 games.
Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl has four points (two goals, two assists) during a four-game point streak, and nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past eight games.

Players to watch

Oilers forward Connor McDavid has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past four games and 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in his past nine games.
Blues center Brayden Schenn has 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 16 career games against the Oilers. He needs two points for 400 in the NHL.

They said it

"When you play good teams like this, deep teams, it makes your group recognize if you're going to be successful, you have to play well. I thought we had the right mindset in Dallas and we need to bring that mindset again tonight." -- Oilers coach Dave Tippett
"When you've got [Leon] Draisaitl and [Connor] McDavid, you've got to be on your toes and checking. All five guys out there have to be aware out there." -- Blues coach Craig Berube

Oilers projected lineup

Joakim Nygard -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
James Neal -- Leon Draisaitl -- Sam Gagner
Jujhar Khaira -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Alex Chiasson
Riley Sheahan -- Gaetan Haas -- Josh Archibald
Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse -- Ethan Bear
Kris Russell -- Caleb Jones
Mikko Koskinen
Mike Smith
Scratched:Markus Granlund, Patrick Russell, Brandon Manning
Injured:Matt Benning (head)

Blues projected lineup

Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Jordan Kyrou
Oskar Sundqvist -- Ryan O'Reilly -- David Perron
Alexander Steen -- Robert Thomas -- Tyler Bozak
Mackenzie MacEachern -- Jacob de la Rose -- Zach Sanford
Colton Parayko -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Justin Faulk
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Jordan Binnington
Scratched:Troy Brouwer, Niko Mikkola
Injured:Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), Sammy Blais (wrist), Carl Gunnarsson (upper body), Ivan Barbashev (upper body)

Status report

Each team held an optional morning skate. ... The Oilers will use the same lineup that played against the Stars on Monday. ... Barbashev skated on his own before the optional practice. Berube said he's making progress but will miss a second straight game.

Stat pack

Oilers forward Zack Kassian will play his 500th NHL game; he has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past four games. … Perron has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past five games, including his fifth NHL hat trick Monday. ... Schwartz has 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 20 games against the Oilers.