PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Blues

News and notes from the Oilers 5-2 win over Nashville on Tuesday, including Zach Hyman securing his first NHL hat trick on the top line with McDavid and Draisaitl.

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EDMONTON, AB – ‘Tight-checking’ has been the overlying theme for the Edmonton Oilers in recent games.

Don’t expect Thursday night’s meeting with the St. Louis Blues, one of the NHL’s perennial defensive outfits during the 21st century, to be any different.

The Oilers have had to fight for open ice and opportunities over their last seven or so games, including three against the always-stingy Minnesota Wild, and will have to take care of business tonight when they open a mini two-game homestand at Rogers Place against St. Louis.

St. Louis and Edmonton have been on opposite trajectories over the last two games, with the Oilers enjoying the second-best record (7-3-0) and best goals per game (4.30) in the NHL over their last 10 games. The Blues, conversely, have a 3-7-1 record since winning seven straight games, while allowing an NHL-high 4.45 goals against per game since November 23.

Thursday will be the third and final contest between the Oilers and Blues after waging two low-scoring 2-0 and 3-1 affairs back in the early part of the 2022-23 NHL season, with each club earning a victory back in October. With the exception of some empty-net goals, both games in essence were close one-goal games.

“Well, I thought both of the games that we played were tight-checking affairs,’ Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. “We lost a 1-0 game on a power-play goal against, and we won 2-1 late in St. Louis. I thought both those games were so early in their season, and early in our season, that I thought they were pretty well-played games for that early. 

“I can’t speak to their team, I can only speak to our team, and we expect a really experienced and hardworking St. Louis Blues team tonight and we’re preparing hard for them.”

KOSTIN SINGS THE BLUES

For Oilers forward Klim Kostin, he won’t be looking anywhere beyond his own performance when he suits up for the first time against his former club tonight.

“I think just like a regular game for me. It’s always nice to meet the old teammates, old team, so let’s just have some fun,” he said. “I just want to prove to myself that they were wrong. I don’t want to prove to anyone, just to myself.”

Kostin was acquired via trade from the blues for defenceman Dmitri Samorukov in early October and navigated nine games with the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL before getting his first shot in the Blue & Orange of the Oilers against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 12.

Since then, he’s served his new club amicably with a strong physical game and two goals and two assists in 14 games. All of his offence has come in the last seven games, including a multi-point performance in a loss to the Wild.

“I think over time, he’s shown that he represents a different dimension than what we have here in Edmonton,” Woodcroft said. “He’s a huge man that plays a fairly simple, straightforward game. He’s at his best when he’s going north and gets physical, and he’s given us some real good minutes. So he’s been a positive addition to our team.”

Video: PRE-RAW | Klim Kostin 12.15.22

There isn’t much of a reason for Kostin to listen to the noise generated from facing his old teammates or even look beyond the ice in front of him with the Russian enjoying a strong stretch of play with the Oilers. They’ve needed his contributions over the last dozen or so games with a number of forwards on the injury shelf. 

“I don’t know,” Kostin said pre-game. “Maybe just because it’s a really good team, really good hockey players here and really good coaching staff, so everybody here is really good.  They come with a smile in the morning, everybody enjoys what they do, and I think it’s the main thing.”

For now, Kostin is in the camp of withholding discussion about his success on a line with Derek Ryan and Devin Shore in hopes of letting his play speak for itself.

“We’ll see. It’s not the time to talk about it now,” he said. “I just started with a new team. I just played how many, 12-13 games?  We’ll see. We’ll see at the end of the season. 

“I really haven’t played much in NHL, so I’m still kind of rocky. So it’s good for me to start the game the simple way.”

DIGGING DEEP WITH DEVIN, DEREK & KLIM

Part of the reason why Kostin’s been having such success early in his tenure as an Oiler is having Derek Ryan and Devin Shore alongside him to learn from. 

“Those guys are really good. They’re like 200-foot players,” Kostin said. “They can make some plays on offence, they’re really good defensive players, and I’m really enjoying playing with them because I can learn a lot from them. So yeah, it’s really good for me.”

“Those two have been awesome,” Shore added.  They’ve been fun to play with, and that’s good.”

For a second-language speaker of English, Kostin has relied on the verbal communication from his linemates to help further adjust to the League having only 60 games of NHL experience to his name. “Everything just like neutral zone, offence, D-zone, they always talk to me about little details, so I just learned from them every practice and every game.”

Video: PRE-RAW | Devin Shore 12.15.22 

Overall, the trio of Kostin, Shore and Ryan have been major benefactors of added responsibility and a large reason for the Oilers continuing to earn wins even with the absence of some names like Evander Kane, Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele. 

“Yeah, the depth guys I think have done a great job,” Shore said. “It’s exciting, right? Everyone wants to contribute, and when we’re fully healthy, some of the opportunities aren’t there which is fine. You’re looking to do anything you can to help the team in any sort of capacity, and then when guys go down, you don’t want to see it, but it’s an opportunity to step up and take on a challenge, so I think the guys have done a great job at responding to that.”

More responsibility has helped the Oilers receive more depth contributions from their bottom six that’s been able to get into more of a groove with more ice time in recent games.

“It’s great. Rhythm is everything,” Shore said. “I think especially in the bottom six, sometimes it’s not there, and it’s nobody’s fault. It’s out of anybody’s control which is all good, and you just put your head down and keep working. But you can get that rhythm, whether it’s chemistry or just a general flow to your individual game and throughout the game, and it’s big.”

(PENALTY) KILLING IN THE NAME OF

Since giving up four power-play goals on five opportunities in early November to the Washington Capitals, Coach Woodcroft has seen the Oilers penalty kill steadily improve.

“I think there’s been some real growth. I think we’re using different people,” he said. “We can’t forget that we were [missing] at one point I think four or five forwards out of our top nine, and during that time, all four or five of them play on the penalty kill as well.  So we’re getting the chance to use different people and figure some things out.” 

Since that loss to the Capitals, Edmonton’s penalty kill has gone 45-for-57 (78.9 percent) that’s seven-and-a-half percentage points above their league average of 72.4 percent that sits 26th overall in the NHL.

Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 12.15.22

“Yeah, it’s big. Anyone who goes out there on that PK, they’re working their bags off and they’re trying to do all the right things,” Shore said. “We were just kind of leaking a lot at the start. Sometimes it’s harder than you think to exactly pinpoint what’s going on and that can creep into your brain as an individual and just as a group.” 

But in an “everyday” league as described by Coach Woodcroft, the work to keep that growth trending in the right direction happens on a daily basis. 

“Everyone up here is a smart player, and most of us have probably been on the power play at some point whether it’s this league or lower league, so you kind of know some certain tendencies,” Shore added. “But special teams are always evolving, and that’s why we do the video and why we do the scouting and stuff — because power plays are looking for different ways to beat you, and it’s on the PK’s to also be adaptive and proactive with that too.”

LINEUP NOTES

Forward Warren Foegele took part in the pre-game skate on Thursday but won’t make his return to the lineup tonight against the Blues after last recording an assist in Edmonton’s 4-3 victory over the Rangers on Nov. 26 at Madison Square Garden.

“The warriors like Warren, they’re scratching, clawing and chomping at the bit to get back in,” Woodcroft said. “I think for us, we’re big-process oriented and it’s no different when it comes to medical for Warren. He’s had a good week here. He’s been out, I think maybe ten games or so, and we’ve taken a conservative approach with him.”

“He didn’t come with us on this road trip, and I thought it was important for him personally to work with the team and get skated by the coaches after today. I thought he had a good day and he won’t be in tonight, but he’s right there. He’s very close.” 

James Hamblin will swap places with Brad Malone and centre the third line, while Stuart Skinner looks set to make his sixth start in the Oilers last seven games after giving way last match to Jack Campbell in Tuesday’s 6-3 win in Nashville.

>>> VIEW THE OILERS PROJECTED LINEUP VS. ST. LOUIS

— Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com

OILERS vs. BLUES

STREAM: 7:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet West

Oilers Team Scope

The Oilers and Blue will go head-to-head for the final time on Thursday, with season series currently split 1-1. 

The two teams got together in St. Louis back on Oct. 26 with the Oilers coming away with a 3-1, and in Edmonton on Oct. 22 with the Blues blanking the Oilers 2-0.

The Oilers are coming off a successful matchup against the the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, where the top line accounted for all six goals in the Blue & Orange’s 6-3 victory. 

Zach Hyman recorded his first-career hat trick, while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continued their mastery of the Predators, combining for nine-points on the night. 

Jack Campbell made his first start in nearly two weeks for the Oilers, turning aside 29 of 32 Predators shots to pick up his eight win of the season. Campbell was also the goalie of record the last time the Blues came to Rogers Place, allowing just a single goal in the shutout loss. 

Video: PRE-RAW | Devin Shore 12.15.22

Blues Team Scope

The Blues are beginning a season-long road trip on Thursday, starting with the 7:00 p.m. contest against the Oilers at Rogers Place. 

They depart Missouri for a five-game trek, with stops in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle, and Las Vegas ahead of the NHL’s Christmas break. St. Louis is looking to gain ground in a tightly packed Western Conference — they enter Thursday’s game with a 13-15-1 record and currently sit seven-points behind the Oilers. 

The Blues are coming off a 1-0 victory over the same team the Oilers defeated on Tuesday night, shutting out the Predators at Enterprise Center. The two squads went all of regulation without scoring a goal, until Brayden Schenn beat Juuse Saros 2:23 into overtime for his seventh goal of the season. Jordan Binnington stopped all 25 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season.

The St. Louis goaltender’s other shutout happened to come against his Thursday night opponent, when he turned away all 23 Oilers shots to blank the Blue & Orange at Rogers Place. Despite a pair of shutouts, the St. Louis goaltender has struggled this season with a 3.23 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage in 22 starts.

Video: PRE-RAW | Klim Kostin 12.15.22

By The Numbers

Over their last 10 games, the Oilers power play is operating at 36.1 per cent with 13 goals scored on 36 opportunities… The Oilers have the second-best record in Western Conference since Nov. 26 with a .700 winning percentage… Edmonton leads the NHL in goals-per game in that timeframe, averaging 4.30 tallies per contest… The Oilers currently rank fourth in the NHL in goals-per game, averaging 3.63 per contest, while the Blues are 29th in the NHL in goals allowed, averaging 3.72 markers against… Connor McDavid enters the contest with a 10-game point streak, with 24 points (10G, 14A) over that stretch… The Captain’s 59 points through 30 games is the most by any NHL player through 30 contests since the 1995-96 season… McDavid has already recorded seven four-point games this season, meaning he records four-or-more points in 23.3 per cent of his games…

The Blues have won just three of their last 11 games after a seven-game winning streak from Nov. 10-21… Brandon Saad’s 21 points in 26 games against the Oilers is the fourth best total by the forward against any opponent… Jordan Binnington picked up his 100th career NHL win on Monday against the Predators… His 12-career shutouts place him sixth on the Blues all-time shutout list… 

Injury Report

OILERS – Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR; Mike Smith (undisclosed) is on IR; Evander Kane (wrist) is on IR; Ryan McLeod (undisclosed) is on IR; Warren Foegele (undisclosed) is on IR.

BLUES – Logan Brown (upper body) is day-to-day; Scott Perunovich (upper body) is on IR; Marco Scandella (hip) is on IR

— Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com