Blues halt short skid with 4-1 win over Oilers
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The St. Louis Blues' slump, if it can be called that, is over.
After losing back-to-back games for only the second time this season, the Blues took their frustrations out Thursday night, whipping the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 at Rogers Place.
The Blues were a little hot under the collar when they arrived, and it showed. Led by two goals from Brayden Schenn and singles from Vladimir Sobotka and Alex Steen, the Blues turned in a fast, hard-checking effort that the Oilers couldn't handle.
It was a wake-up call for Edmonton. After a disastrous 3-7-1 start, the Oilers were slowly getting things turned around (4-2-1 in their previous seven games) and saw the Blues as an opportunity to prove how far they've come.
Not far enough to keep up with the Blues, as it turns out.
With two teams wanting to focus on defense, there wasn't a lot of offense in the first period -- just two goals -- but they came in a hurry.
The Oilers and Blues both scored on the same man-advantage, with Sobotka's goal coming short-handed after a Cam Talbot giveaway at 15:14 and Ryan Strome undoing the damage 29 seconds later with a rocket under the crossbar.
St. Louis took over the momentum to start the second period, outshooting Edmonton 13-3 in the first 10 minutes. But Talbot more than made up for his first-period gaffe with several huge saves.
The Blues made it 2-1 when Steen had time enough to chop in his own rebound from close range at 7:20 of the second period.
Schenn put the Oilers away for good in the third period, scoring two goals less than two minutes apart.
NOTES: A first-period assist from Oilers C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave him 12 points in the last 11 games. ... LW Mike Cammalleri made his debut with the Oilers after being acquired in a trade with Los Angeles on Tuesday. He's on the third line with Ryan Strome and Iiro Pakarinen. ... Oilers LW Jujhar Khaira, who turned in two solid games after spending six games in the press box as a healthy scratch, is out with an upper-body injury. ... St. Louis LW Magnus Paajarvi is back in the lineup after being scratched Monday in Calgary. ... The Blues came into Edmonton on a four-game losing streak against the Oilers (0-3-1) after winning the previous eight.