Ryan Nugent-Hopkins isn’t expected to play tonight. He joins Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Ekholm, Stuart Skinner, Trent Frederic, John Klingberg and Evander Kane on the unavailable list. That is a total of $42.2 million on the shelf.

The good news is most are expected to be ready for playoffs.

RNH is dealing with an illness. McDavid, Draisaitl, Ekholm, Stuart Skinner and Kane skated this morning. Skinner is expected to return to the lineup, at the very least in a backup role, on Friday v. San Jose. Ekholm, McDavid and Draisaitl are expected back within a week. Frederic is getting more tests done today for an update on his high ankle sprain, but they are hopeful he will be ready for the playoffs. Kane will play in the playoffs, but he might not play game one. Klingberg has an infection and his return is unknown at this time.

Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers face the hottest team in the NHL tonight. The St. Louis Blues have won 12 of their last 13 games. Their 12-game winning streak ended in Winnipeg on Monday night, but the Blues have been scoring with ease and defending quite well for the past seven weeks.

This will be a very tough test for the Oilers. Edmonton played well for long stretches in Anaheim, but their PP struggled mightily (0-for-6) and their bottom-six guys created some good opportunities, but Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown and Max Jones couldn’t bury their chances.

If the Oilers want to win tonight, it likely will be low scoring. They need to limit the Blues’ chances. They can’t gift them any goals. The Oilers still have some guys with a history of producing, and they will need Zach Hyman Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner and Adam Henrique to lead the way offensively.

The Oilers’ blue line ranks sixth in points, and they are capable of chipping in offensively with Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman and Darnell Nurse sitting among the top-30 even-strength-scoring defenders. The Oilers are depleted offensively, but that doesn’t mean the team still can’t produce. They generated some good looks against Anaheim, and will need to do the same tonight.

— Robert Thomas is on fire. He’s riding a nine-game point streak where he’s produced 20 points. He leads the NHL in scoring since 4-Nations with 35 points in 23 games, one ahead of Nikita Kucherov.

— The Blues are the highest-scoring team in the league since the 4-Nations Face-Off, averaging 3.78 GF/game, and they have the sixth-lowest GA/game at 2.26. Their +1.52 GF-GA differential is also the best in the league. They are a league-best 18-3-2 as well.

— The big question surrounding the Blues will be: Can they maintain their hot streak down the stretch and into the playoffs? They have three more regular-season games — tonight, Saturday in Seattle and next Tuesday at home to Utah. Most likely they will play Vegas and while the Blues will be rested, I wonder if they lose their mojo by playing only three games in 11 days before the playoffs begin on the 19th. St. Louis and Vegas would be good candidates to start on Saturday as neither team plays on Thursday the 17th.

— Calvin Pickard is the Oilers’ nominee for the Bill Masterton trophy, which is awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Pickard is a great example of those things and well deserving of being the Oilers’ nominee.

He was quick to point out how much his teammates have helped him, but Pickard deserves this honour for his work ethic and being a great teammate. Many would have been angry or jaded after how his career unfolded for seven seasons, but he wasn’t — a great example for many on how to handle and deal with adversity.

Noah Philp will play his 13th game this season. These lines are a guess, as this morning Draisaitl and McDavid were involved in line rushes. I just put Philp in RNH’s spot from last game. I’m guessing we will see many different line combinations tonight.

Dylan Holloway is out for the rest of the regular season, and at this point, they aren’t sure if he will be ready to start the playoffs. He had 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games before being injured. Terrible timing for him to get hurt before playoffs. He’s had an unreal breakout season and his injury is a big blow for the Blues.

GAME DAY PREDICTION: It is a low-event game. Oilers lose 3-2 in overtime.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Thomas extends his point streak to 10 games.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Oilers score a power play goal.