The Edmonton Oilers can tie a team record with a win Friday night over the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Place (630 CHED, Face-off Show 5:30 p.m., game at 7 p.m.).
The Oilers have won eight straight home games. Their best streak is nine, achieved at the end of the 2016/17 season.
“It’s something we’ve talked about all year and something we’ve wanted to be better at all year. It’s coming together now. It’s being hard to play against at home, not giving teams anything easy, making every shift count, making it tough on other teams to create offence in here,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
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“You want to take pride in your home rink,” said goalie Mike Smith. “Having fans back in the building and creating some energy for us has been a huge part in that.”
The Oilers are third in the Pacific Division. They trail the L.A. Kings by three points with two games in hand.
“Understanding where you’re at in the standings is obviously important,” said Smith. “It’s tight for the last couple of playoff spots. Every game is important when you’re getting to this time of the season.”
The Oilers expected lineup is:
Kane – McDavid – Puljujarvi
Hyman – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Brassard – Nugent-Hopkins – Kassian
Foegele – McLeod – Archibald
Nurse – Ceci
Keith – Bouchard
Kulak – Barrie
Smith
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