Oilers at Blues
The St. Louis Blues have snapped out of a mini-slump that bookended the Christmas break and go for their fifth consecutive victory when they host the last-place Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. The Blues are coming off a 5-4 shootout victory over Carolina - the only narrow decision during the winning streak following three blowout wins. "It's not always going to be pretty," defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "It's not always going to be easy to win."
While St. Louis has amassed 24 goals during its four-game run, the Oilers are trying to regain their equilibrium following a disastrous stretch in which they dropped 20 of 21 (1-14-6) and saw coach Dallas Eakins dismissed. Edmonton is 3-2-2 under interim coach Todd Nelson, including three-goal victories over Chicago and the New York Islanders. While that provides some reason for optimism, the Oilers open a four-game road trip having dropped 12 straight (0-6-6) away from home.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, RSW (Edmonton), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE OILERS (10-24-9): Benoit Pouliot has returned to the lineup with a flourish, scoring three times in five games since he was sidelined for six weeks with a broken foot. Jordan Eberle has also picked up his offensive game of late, netting five goals in the last six contests following a nine-game goalless drought. Taylor Hall, who has five goals and seven assists in 13 career contests against St. Louis, is riding a four-game point streak and collected the 150th assist of his career in Sunday's 4-2 loss to Florida.
ABOUT THE BLUES (26-13-3): Captain David Backes was named the NHL's First Star of the Week after a sensational three-game stretch in which he produced five goals and three assists. "I'm the beneficiary of some great play all around me," Backes said. "I'm honored by the mentioning, but you're not out there alone. There's a lot of guys making great plays all around me." One of those players is Alexander Steen, who is on a torrid streak of his own with four goals and eight assists during a six-game point string.
OVERTIME:
1. The Blues have won nine of 10 overall in the series and are 8-1-0 in the last nine in St. Louis.
2. G Ben Scrivens is winless in his last nine road starts (0-4-5) for Edmonton, which plays 12 of the next 15 away from home
3. St. Louis has converted on half its power-play chances (7-of-14) during the four-game streak.