The Edmonton Oilers’ road trip ended with a thud as they were blown out 7-2 by the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.
The Blues scored the only goal of the first period when Jaden Schwartz beat Mikko Koskinen from a sharp angle. They outshot the Oilers 13-5.
“It’s a tough loss,” Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock said after the game.
“The fifth goal was the killer for us. Against a good team like that, you can’t take a penalty 200 feet from your net.”
The Blues buried the Oilers with three goals in the first 7:13 of the second period. Alex Pietrangelo went in alone and scored on a backhand just 27 seconds into the session. Schwartz’s shot from the slot went through Koskinen, and the Oilers goalie was replaced after allowing three goals on 20 shots. Anthony Stolarz came in and was beaten by David Perron, who banked in a shot from behind the net.
The Oilers came back with two goals 55 seconds apart late in the period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins stuffed home the puck after it deflected off the backboards. Then Zack Kassian tucked a backhand just over the goal line. Both goals were reviewed to see if the puck crossed the goal line.
Listen below: Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock speaks after Tuesday’s game against the Blues.
“Most of the teams we’re playing are either in a playoff spot or still fighting, so they’re gonna be ready to go from the start, and we need to do the same,” Nugent-Hopkins said after the game.
Perron scored a power-play goal on a nifty behind-the-back deflection six minutes into the third. Patrick Maroon made it 6-2 later.
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Milan Lucic was ejected from the game for cross-checking with just over five minutes remaining. Schwartz completed the hat trick on the ensuing power play.
“We need to get home and see if we can get some rest and get playing,” Hitchcock said. “We’re banged up and there’s not much left of us. We just need to regroup and get ready for the homestand.”
The Blues outshot the Oilers 44-17.
The Oilers, 32-34-7, will host Columbus on Thursday.
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