After a dominant 6-1 win at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers will face off against the St. Louis Blues in Missouri on Monday night, trying to extend their current three-game winning streak.
“Every two points down the stretch here is huge, no matter who you’re playing,” Oilers forward Adam Henrique said after Saturday’s game, where he scored the opening goal against the team that traded him to Edmonton ahead of this year’s NHL trade deadline.
“(I) certainly feel a lot more comfortable with the dynamics of the team and understanding the game-to-game and situational play,” he said of getting settled in with the Oilers. “(I’m) trying to build that chemistry and understanding. These guys have done a great job talking to us.”
The Oilers (45-23-4) currently occupy second place in the Pacific Division. The club is six points behind the Vancouver Canucks but has also played two fewer games.
The Blues (39-31-4) are not currently in a playoff position, sitting five points behind the Los Angeles Kings who currently hold the final wild-card spot in the NHL’s Western Conference.
Get breaking National news
This season, Edmonton has a 20-15-1 record on the road while St. Louis has a 22-13-2 record in its home games.
Both the Blues and Oilers have a 7-2-1 record in their past 10 games. In those games, the Blues are scoring an average of 3.3 goals per game while giving up 2.4 goals per game, while the Oilers are scoring an average of 4.4 goals per game and also giving up an average of 2.4.
Monday night’s contest is the first of a brief two-game road trip for the Oilers. They will be in Dallas to take on the Stars on Wednesday night.
Oilers defenceman Cody Ceci sat out Saturday’s game because of an illness.
“He’s feeling better,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said over the weekend. “We anticipate he’ll be playing in St. Louis.”
Oilers captain Connor McDavid continues to put up points at a torrid pace after having a slow start to the season. He scored three more points against the Ducks on Saturday and remains embroiled in a fascinating three-way race to become the NHL leader in points this season, along with the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov.
McDavid was in 114th place in NHL scoring on Nov. 10, but now has accumulated 125 points to challenge for the scoring lead.
The opening faceoff for Monday night’s game is at 7 p.m. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 5:30 p.m.
Comments