Edmonton Oilers v St Louis Blues

The Edmonton Oilers will begin back-to-back games on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center against the St. Louis Blues.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet One at 6:00 MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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Edmonton's comeback falls short in a 4-3 loss to Toronto on Saturday

PREVIEW: Oilers at Blues

ST. LOUIS, MO – The Edmonton Oilers will head out on the road following their season-long six-game homestand at Rogers Place to begin back-to-back games on Tuesday night with a visit to Enterprise Center to take on the St. Louis Blues.

Edmonton will face St. Louis for the second time this season after earning a 4-2 win in their first meeting on Dec. 7 at Rogers Place behind multi-point games from Connor McDavid (1G, 1A) and Leon Draisaitl (2A), while Troy Stecher notched his first Oilers goal as an Oiler with insurance marker in the final six minutes of the third period.

Dating back to their last 11 meetings, the Oilers have earned points in eight of those 11 games (6-3-2) and will look to put an end to a mini two-game losing streak overall during their only trip to the Enterprise Center this season.

"They're a really good team," Connor McDavid said after practice on Monday morning. "They're young, they're fast, they're energetic and they're a tough, tough task. We gotta be ready."

The Oilers have dropped back-to-back games after losing to the Detroit Red Wings in overtime on Thursday before being denied a heroic comeback during the third period on Saturday, losing 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs following a dramatic finish on home ice.

Leon Draisaitl had his tying goal at six-on-five with 2:04 left in regulation taken back on an offside challenge, reversing the cheers inside Rogers Place among the sea of blue, white and orange that was divided down the middle between fans of the Oilers and Maple Leafs.

After they recalibrated and went back on the attack, the Oilers would have a few more great chances before veteran Corey Perry’s last-ditch attempt was gloved down by goaltender Joseph Woll on the final play of the game.

Connor addresses the media on Monday morning in Edmonton

Woll finished with 45 saves as the Oilers eclipsed the mark 45 shots on goal for the second time in their last three games, totalling 95 total shots but yielding only one victory. Edmonton leads the NHL this season with an average of 32.5 shots per game.

“We're getting quality looks. It's just the way it goes sometimes,” Connor McDavid said after practice on Monday morning. “I feel like the offence has been down everywhere, but it's not for a lack of effort or a lack of getting looks. I feel like we get looks every night and we're finding a way to get two or three every night, but we haven't had one of those where you break it open.

“The good news is we defend pretty well, so we're finding ways to win games. We usually just need to score three every night to win.”

Despite losing two in a row and going 1-2-1 over their last five games, the Oilers remain one of the hottest teams in the NHL over the past few months with a 22-7-2 record since Nov. 31, having the ability to recognize the wins and losses in the little details of each match.

“We didn't like to start the last game, being down 3-0 isn’t good enough,” McDavid said. “Against Detroit, I didn't like our second period, so there's no real rhyme or reason to either of those wins, but I liked our response on Saturday after being down three. I thought maybe we could have deserved a better fate, but putting yourself in a hole like that, it's not easy.”

Corey Perry showed his Hart Trophy-winning and Stanley Cup pedigree over Edmonton’s lengthy six-game homestand with three goals and an assist in those games while still having a penchant for playing his trademark ‘Worm’ style of play by mixing it up physically and getting under his opponents’ skin.

The 39-year-old’s third-period marker against the Maple Leafs on Saturday was his 10th goal of the season, ranking him fifth on the Oilers roster while averaging 11:33 of ice time and playing primarily a fourth-line role. Head Coach Kris Knoblauch hasn’t shied away from using Perry on the top line at times this season with the way he’s produced thanks to his play along the wall and in the corners that benefits players like Connor McDavid.

“He's just so smart. I think that's the main thing,” McDavid said. “Obviously, he’s been around a really long time and seen just about everything there is to see in this league. He's just so smart out there. The way he is around the net, getting pucks off the wall and winning battles, it's really impressive. It seems like a simple thing just to go to the net, but that's where the goals are.”

Kris speaks after practice at Rogers Place on Monday morning

Defenceman John Klingberg was relied upon more than expected on Saturday after Mattias Ekholm was a late scratch for the Oilers due to illness, leading to the right-handed Swede recording 20:46 of ice time in only his second game back after missing more than a season.

Despite being the target of Toronto’s offside challenge late in Saturday’s loss, Klingberg is looking more up to NHL speed with each on-ice session and has already found his touch with the puck, says Knoblauch.

“We obviously relied on quite a bit now with Ekholm being out. The puck play is outstanding. I think he’s just getting used to the speed and that's mostly on the defending,” Knoblauch said. "I think defending or moving the puck, he's been great. For the situation he's been in, I think he's been doing a really good job.”

The Oilers have been battling illness over the past handful of games, including Ekholm’s absence against the Maple Leafs and both McDavid and Janmark missing Sunday’s Skills Competition at Rogers Place because of sickness. Starting with this week's brief back-to-back, the Oilers will be hoping they're through the worst of it and can push on for the two-and-a-half months of the season.

“I can't say how much has affected us more than other teams. There are other teams that are battling that too, but we've had some issues,” Knoblauch said. “We lost Ekholm the other night. Other guys have been playing through it a little bit, but I don't know if it's affected us more than others.’

Former Oilers winger Dylan Holloway scored in his first game against his former club back in December after signing an offer sheet with the Blues in the offseason and continues to have an impressive season. The 23-year-old has benefitted from nearly five more minutes of average ice time this season (16.27) than in 2024 (11.22) and has 38 points (16 goals) in 53 games with St. Louis.

Defenceman Philip Broberg, who also signed an offer sheet with the Blues, only has a goal and two assists in his last 25 games following his hot start to life in St. Louis that saw him post two goals and 10 assists in his first 15 contests, but remains a big minutes-eater on their blueline.

St. Albert product Colton Parayko, who will be McDavid's teammate on team Canada at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, has scored 11 goals while contributing 122 blocks this season.