The Edmonton Oilers embark on a five-game road trip starting Wednesday versus the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet 360, One & West or listen on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game at STL
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Tippett
PRE-GAME RAW | Draisaitl
RECENT VIDEOS
PRACTICE | Monday Preparation
RAW | Smith
RAW | Hyman
AROUND THE RINK | Virtual Visits
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Blues Statistics
Game Notes
Stats Comparison
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
FEATURE: Building back
BLOG: Tuesday content and commentary
GENE'S BLOG: Big man on campus

VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Wednesday's game on Sportsnet 360, One & West at 6:30 PM MT.

INSIDE THE OILERS

News and notes from Tuesday's practice at Clare Drake Arena, where Mike Smith proclaimed his readiness for the crease after an extended recovery from injury.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG

PRE-GAME REPORT

ST. LOUIS, MO - After being forced to take a step back over the holidays, it's time for the Oilers to put their best skate forward and get back to work.
The Orange & Blue are back in action for the first time in 11 days when they begin a five-game road trip and a stretch of five matches in eight days against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.
"It feels great," forward Leon Draisaitl said. "Obviously it was an unexpectedly long break, but I think we're all very excited. I think the whole league is excited to get going again, and it's a good test for us against a good team."
Multiple schedule postponements and an extended lay-off over the holidays have the Oilers feeling rejuvenated and ready to resume their busy NHL slate after the club last defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-2 back on December 18 to mark two-straight victories.
"Everybody looks forward to a couple of days break now and then," Head Coach Dave Tippett said. "But with all the other factors going on, it can get taxing on the mind.
"If you talk to the players, they want to put the distractions behind them and play. That's great to see. We're going to get lots of playing here in the next 10 days, and we're looking forward to it."
The enthusiasm for a return to action was on the ice in plain sight during three energy-filled practices at Clare Drake Arena before the trip to St. Louis, with the group showing no signs of a holiday hangover.

"We've had three good practices here, and I give the guys credit coming out of the break," Tippett said. "They've got lots of energy and recognize this is going to be a hard road trip for us. We play five games in eight days, so they're anxious to get going."
Among the most-anticipated returns to the lineup is goaltender Mike Smith, who declared his availability following Tuesday's practice at the University of Alberta and is tonight's confirmed starter in the Oilers crease after missing 26 games and two-and-a-half months due to injury.
"He's going to have a little skate this morning, but he's good to go tonight," Tippett said. "It's really good to see him back."
REINFORCEMENTS READY
If the extended holiday break did one thing for the Oilers, it's buy time for some valuable reinforcements to get to the front line.
Four consistent contributors for the club - Smith, Duncan Keith, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman - are poised to make their returns to the lineup, with the added potential of defenceman Dmitri Samorukov making his NHL debut after being recalled with Philip Broberg from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on Boxing Day.
Smith is set to start in the Oilers crease tonight after last appearing on October 19 against the Anaheim Ducks, with the veteran's recovery progressing to the point where he needs to test it out in a real game after feeling good over the last few weeks of practice.
The 39-year-old netminder's leadership in the dressing room and puck-handling skill on the ice will be a big boost to the group's confidence.

"He's so good with the puck back there that it makes it a lot easier for our defencemen to read the play and break the puck out. That makes it easier for us forwards to read the play as well," Draisaitl said. "Off the ice, he brings that swagger to the group, a good attitude, and wants to win really badly.
"He's an outstanding goaltender, but he's also one of our leaders in that room. He's a vocal guy, very passionate about winning, and the work he puts in is extraordinary to keep himself fit for as long as he has."
Defenceman Duncan Keith is another veteran voice that's bringing youthful exuberance back into the Oilers fold alongside Smith after clearing COVID-19 Protocol and joining his teammates for a pre-flight practice on Tuesday.
"(Smith) and Keith both, it's funny, because in practice, the two oldest guys are bringing the most energy like little kids out there," Tippett said with a smile.
Postponements to the Oilers schedule pushed the return of Hyman back more than a week, but the extra time gave the Oilers winger some extra time to recover from a shoulder injury sustained on December 11 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"He's one of those guys that we've talked about all year. He just touches so many parts of the game," Tippett said. "From a coaching perspective, it's great to see him back in there. It just gives us another strong player in a lot of situations."
LINEUP NOTES
With the return of Smith to the lineup, the Oilers assigned goaltender Stuart Skinner to the Condors after the 23-year-old went 4-5-0 with a 2.70 goals-against average and 916 save percentage in 10 appearances.
The Oilers placed Philip Broberg in the re-introduced taxi squad on Wednesday along with Condors goaltender Ilya Konovalov, who posted a 1.47 goals-against average and .946 save percentage over four appearances during the month of December with Bakersfield.
Darnell Nurse, Jesse Puljujarvi, Zack Kassian, William Lagesson and Assistant Coach Brian Wiseman remain in COVID-19 Protocol.
The Oilers held an optional practice on Wednesday and lines will be made apparent during warm-ups.
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com

PREVIEW

OILERS at BLUES
WATCH: 6:30 PM MT; televised on Sportsnet 360, One & West
Oilers Team Scope
It was back to school for the Edmonton Oilers after returning back from the holiday break, as the club skated at the University of Alberta's Clare Drake Arena the past three days with the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship being held at Rogers Place.
After limping into their final two games before the brief hiatus - winning 5-2 over Columbus and 5-3 in Seattle - the Orange & Blue have welcomed a few bodies back to the ice. Players include defenceman Duncan Keith, forward Zach Hyman, call-ups Dmitri Samorukov and Philip Broberg, as well as goaltender Mike Smith - who has two wins in '21-22 with a .920 save percentage and 3.08 goals-against average in three appearances.
"I've done enough work in practice where I just need to get into a game and see how it goes," Smith, whose last start came on Oct. 19 versus the Anaheim Ducks, said.
"I'm to the point now where it's not perfect either, but nothing's been perfect throughout the course of my career. It's just something else I have to deal with, and hopefully, I can come back into the lineup and play some good hockey."
Blues Team Scope
Wednesday's affair with the Oilers will also mark St. Louis' first game since the mini-break, last falling to the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 4-2 on Dec. 19.
On Sunday, the Blues announced that four players were placed in COVID-19 Protocol in Robert Bortuzzo, Dakota Joshua, James Neal and Ivan Barbashev. However, forward Oskar Sundqvist was cleared to resume activities on Tuesday and is fit to play in Wednesday's match. The team is also expected to add David Perron, Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas into the mix.
St. Louis is 17-9-5 on the season, boasting an 11-3-2 showing at Enterprise Center and 6-2-2 record in their last 10 outings. Winger Vladimir Tarasenko tops the club in goals with 12 but co-shares the team scoring lead with Pavel Buchnevich as both players have 29 points. Keeper Jordan Binnington is 8-6-3, holding a .910 SV% and 2.87 GAA.
By The Numbers
The Oilers have the top-ranked road power play (36.8%) and best road penalty kill (89.5%). ... Leon Draisaitl (23G, 26A) and Connor McDavid (17G, 32A) are T-1st in the NHL with 49 points apiece through 29 games. ... The two are 1st and 2nd in road points as Draisaitl (13G, 11A) leads the NHL with 24 while McDavid (8G, 13A) has 21. ... Warren Foegele has three goals in his last two games. ...
The Blues are third on the power play at home (29.8%) and 12th on the PK at Enterprise Center (82.5%). ... Buchnevich has recorded three straight multi-assist games, collecting seven helpers and eight points over his last five contests. ... Ryan O'Reilly has taken the third-most draws in the League with 596, winning 337 of them for a 56.5 percentage (16th among skaters who have taken 15% of team's faceoffs).
Injury Report
OILERS - Mike Smith (lower body) is on IR; Zack Kassian (COVID-19 Protocol) is day-to-day; Darnell Nurse (COVID-19 Protocol) is day-to-day; William Lagesson (COVID-19 Protocol) is day-to-day; Jesse Puljujarvi (COVID-19 Protocol) is day-to-day; Markus Niemelainen (hand) is on IR; Kris Russell (upper body) is on IR.
BLUES - Robert Bortuzzo (COVID-19 Protocol) is day-to-day; Ivan Barbashev (COVID-19 Protocol) is day-to-day; James Neal (COVID-19 Protocol) day-to-day; Dakota Joshua (COVID-19 Protocol) is day-to-day; Brayden Schenn (upper body) is on IR; Ville Husso (lower body) is on IR; Jake Walman (upper body) is on IR.
-- Paul Gazzola, EdmontonOilers.com