Oilers rally to defeat Blues
EDMONTON, Alberta -- After being outscored 12-4 in two previous losses to St. Louis this season, the Edmonton Oilers gained a little revenge Thursday.
The Oilers came back from a pair of third-period deficits before posting a 3-2 victory over the Blues on Drake Caggiula's goal with 49.8 seconds left in regulation.
Connor McDavid and Mike Cammalleri also scored for Edmonton.
The Oilers were looking to avenge 4-1 and 8-3 defeats in their previous meetings while the Blues were simply looking to keep pace with Nashville atop the Central Division standings.
It was a scoreless chess match for the most part, with both teams unable to generate any offense until midway through the third period, when the goals came fast and furious.
Patrik Berglund made it 2-1St. Louis on a one-timer from the slot at 13:22, but once again the Oilers fought back, this time on McDavid's equalizer with 3:41 to play.
Just when it looked the game was headed for overtime, Caggiula's fifth of the season put it away for good.
The Blues were all over Edmonton in the first period but Oilers goalie Cam Talbot stopped Berglund on a breakaway, Paul Stastny from point-blank range and faced three five-star chances on the first shift of the game.
His diving stick save on Stastny in the third period will be on everyone's highlight of the year package.
At the other end of the ice, the Oilers must have thought they were cursed. They hit five goal posts in the first two periods and saw a few more chances snuffed out by goalie Jake Allen.
The Blues are really missing injured center Jaden Schwartz. They've been shut out twice and scored just one even-strength goal in their last six games without him.
After 50 scoreless minutes, the floodgates opened briefly when Tage Thompson scored his first NHL goal at 9:30. But the lead lasted just 38 seconds before Cammalleri tied it for Edmonton.
NOTES: Oilers G Cam Talbot came into the game with a 5-0 record in his previous five starts after starting the year 7-10-1. ... Thursday marked the first game of the season for Oilers D Andrej Sekera, who'd been out all year recovering from offseason knee surgery. ... It is the third game in a row the Oilers brought a key veteran back from injured reserve. Talbot returned last Saturday and D Adam Larsson returned on Monday. ... St. Louis C Brayden Schenn had one assist Thursday after putting up seven points in their first two meetings. ... St. Louis defensemen have accounted for 24 of the Blues' 106 goals this season (22.64%), which ranks second in the NHL. ... The Blues were 16-2-1 when they scored first before losing Thursday.