The Saturday night showdown between the Oilers and Maple Leafs in Edmonton left fans deflated. A burst of hope came when Leon Draisaitl seemingly tied the game at 4-4, but the joy was snatched away when John Klingberg was ruled offside and the goal was taken back. Now, the Oilers are shifting focus to the St. Louis Blues in what promises to be a critical matchup leading into the 4 Nations Face-Off.
1. The Oilers have struggled in St. Louis, plain and simple. Last season, they dropped both contests at Enterprise Center. The first was a brutal 6-3 loss on February 15th, surrendering four unanswered goals in a disastrous second period. The second? A 3-2 overtime heartbreaker in April, despite strong showings from Mattias Ekholm and Draisaitl. The last time Edmonton walked out of St. Louis victorious was late 2022, with a 3-1 win powered by goals from Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman. Stuart Skinner was the hero that night, stopping 37 of 38 shots for his first win of the season.
2. The Blues, meanwhile, are clawing their way out of a slump. They just snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 road win over the Utah Hockey Club, thanks to a third-period dagger from Jordan Kyrou. Before that, they dropped games to heavyweight opponents like the Avalanche, Canucks, Stars, and Golden Knights. Injury-wise, St. Louis has some stability with no fresh setbacks to their roster. Torey Krug remains sidelined with a long-term ankle injury, and Nick Leddy, who’s only played four games this season, hasn’t been seen since mid-October.
3. The biggest storyline going into this clash? Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg are facing their old squad. Both former Oilers first-round picks are thriving in St. Louis. Holloway has obliterated his past career highs, racking up 16 goals and 38 points so far this season, second on the team behind Kyrou. Broberg has quietly impressed as well, logging 15 points in 40 games while maintaining rock-solid defensive numbers, averaging 17:24 of ice time and being on the ice for just 16 goals against at 5-on-5.
4. Behind the bench, the Blues have seen improvement since swapping head coaches. Jim Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister after being let go by the Bruins, and the Blues have stabilized with a 15-13-3 record under Montgomery, far better than Bannister’s 9-12-1 start. Montgomery’s squad now averages 2.90 goals per game (18th) while allowing 2.77 goals against (12th), though their special teams remain a weak spot. A woeful 19.2% power play (21st) and a dismal 68.5% penalty kill (30th) could be a major factor in this matchup.
5. Between the pipes, Jordan Binnington will represent Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off next week. This season, he’s been inconsistent, posting a 14-19-3 record, a 0.898 save percentage, and a 2.83 goals-against average. He’s started strong in 19 of his 36 games, which is just below league average. On the other side, Stuart Skinner has been more reliable for the Oilers, boasting a quality start percentage of 54 and a slightly better 0.902 save percentage.
6. For Edmonton, Connor McDavid is the player to watch. The Oilers’ captain has feasted on the Blues in recent years, tallying 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) in 10 games over the last five seasons, with 11 of those points coming at even strength. However, historically, St. Louis has been a thorn in his side, as his career minus-eight against the Blues is his worst plus-minus against any NHL team. McDavid was surprisingly held pointless in Saturday’s loss to Toronto, marking the 10th time this season he’s been kept off the scoresheet. By comparison, he was held pointless only 12 times all of last season.
7. Head coach Kris Knoblauch has made a few tweaks to the lineup. The top-six remains intact with McDavid centering Draisaitl and Corey Perry, while Nugent-Hopkins lines up alongside Viktor Arvidsson and Hyman. In the bottom-six, Vasily Podkolzin and Connor Brown move to the fourth line with Mattias Janmark, while Jeff Skinner and Kasperi Kapanen join forces with Adam Henrique on the third. On defence, Mattias Ekholm skates with Evan Bouchard on the top pairing, and Klingberg remains the seventh defenseman.
The stakes are high, and both teams have something to prove. The Oilers are hungry to snap their St. Louis struggles, while the Blues aim to build momentum under Montgomery’s leadership. Buckle up, this matchup has all the makings of a battle.
