Blues at Oilers
Nail Yakupov was labeled as an underachiever in four seasons since he was selected as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2012, but his trade to St. Louis on the eve of the season still was a bit of a shocker. Less than two weeks after he was sent packing, Yakupov returns to Edmonton when the Blues take on the Oilers on Thursday night.
"It is weird," Yakupov told Edmonton radio voice Jack Michaels. "When I was here, I didn't expect that I would stay in a hotel in this city, because I lived in this city. But, it's different. But, it's really good, now, we have a good team and a good group." St. Louis is coming off its first defeat, a 2-1 overtime loss at Vancouver but still has points in its first four games for the first time in franchise history. The Oilers had the second-worst record last season with 70 points, but is off to a fast start with three wins in their first four games. Edmonton is averaging 4.25 goals per game to rank second in the league but is also surrendering 3.75 tallies per contest.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), Sportsnet (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE BLUES (3-0-1): Forward Jaden Schwartz, who missed the first four games with a hyperextended elbow, practiced Wednesday and is expected to make his season debut Thursday. "He's in the practice as a full-time employee, so we'll see from there," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "If he's a full-time employee today and he does OK, then he'll be a full-time employee tomorrow." Schwartz was limited to 33 games and eight goals last season but had a combined 53 goals in the previous two seasons.
ABOUT THE OILERS (3-1-0): Captain Connor McDavid has been held off the scoresheet the past two games after opening the season with consecutive three-point contests, but his teammates are picking up the slack. Jordan Eberle notched his third goal in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over Carolina to extend his point streak to four games, a string matched by center Leon Draisaitl, who is tied for the team lead with six points. Goaltender Cam Talbot had an eventful 24 hours with 31 saves Tuesday night and the birth of twins Wednesday.
OVERTIME
1. Blues F Vladimir Tarasenko already has four goals and has six tallies and 11 points in 11 games versus Edmonton.
2. The Oilers placed D Mark Fayne on injured reserve and recalled D Ben Betker from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League.
3. St. Louis placed F Jori Lehtera (hip) on injured reserve Wednesday.