GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Blues 1

ST. LOUIS, MO – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins picked the critical moment to score his 200th-career NHL goal, netting the game-winner with 6:16 to go in regulation of a 3-1 Oilers victory over the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Wednesday night.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner played exceptional with 37 saves in his second start of the season, while Jesse Puljujarvi recorded his first goal of the campaign to open the scoring in the first period. Zach Hyman put the game on ice with 27 seconds remaining, depositing the insurance goal into the empty net to secure the Oilers the victory in their first road game on the calendar.

The Oilers head right to Chicago, where they’ll wrap up back-to-back games and continue their three-game road trip at the United Center against the Blackhawks on Thursday night.

Video: Nugent-Hopkins scores milestone goal in win

FIRST BLOOD

The Oilers started on the front foot and got their deserved opening goal at the end of a fine forecheck from the Warren Foegele, Ryan McLeod and Jesse Puljujarvi line and a great point shot from Darnell Nurse.

After Nugent-Hopkins’ cross-ice pass at the end of his shift hit a Blues stick in the neutral zone and trickled into the offensive zone, Foegele wheeled through with great speed and pushed the puck behind the St. Louis net. Foegele wrapped a pass from behind the net out to the point for Nurse, who let fly a wrist shot that was deflected by the passing-through Puljujarvi in the slot and past Binnington into the bottom-left corner for the opening goal just over six minutes into the hockey game.

The goal was Jesse’s first point and first tally of the season, while putting the Finnish forward on 99 points for his career. 

SECONDS FROM SAFE

The second period was where the Blues fought their way back after an opening frame owned by the Blue & Orange.

Edmonton wasn’t void of chances in the middle frame, including a powerplay where Zach Hyman and Co. couldn’t find a bounce past Binnington, but the shots were one-sided at 20-6 in favour of the home side at the second intermission. The Blues had their own chance with the man advantage in the final two minutes and left it late — 4.4 seconds left to be exact — for captain Ryan O’Reilly to bat a puck out of the air from the left of Skinner’s net and put the tying goal in off the netminder’s right pad.

So close to safety, but O’Reilly’s effort had things leveled up through 40 minutes.

NUMBER 200 FOR NUGE

Nuuuuuuuuugggge!

The 200th goal of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ incredible career came at a big moment.

Captain Connor McDavid came out from behind the St. Louis net delivered a seeing-eye, cross-crease pass onto the stick of Nugent-Hopkins at the left post, where the Nuge put it over Binnington’s right pad and lifted the Oilers into a late 2-1 lead with his 200th career NHL goal that came with 6:16 on the clock in regulation.

Video: EDM@STL: Nugent-Hopkins gives Oilers lead

SKINNER SAVES THE DAY

Ryan McLeod and the Oilers have their goaltender to thank for a miraculous save that kept things even in the last half of the third period.

The centre lost an edge and coughed up the puck in the slot, leaving Blues forward Ivan Barbashev all the time in the world to choose how to attack the Oilers netminder one-on-one. Barbashev elected to shoot low blocker, but there was Skinner kicking out the right pad to send the chance away with a terrific save — the most influential of his 37 saves on the night.

It was only Skinner’s second start with one relief appearances sprinkled in, but the netminder has taken his opportunity to be the out-and-out backup netminder for the Oilers and ran with it with 89 saves on 92 shots this year.

PARTING WORDS

Check back for reaction to tonight’s game following post-game media avails.