Preview: Blues at Oilers

[March 16, 2016]  After seeing their six-game winning streak come to an end against one Alberta representative, the St. Louis Blues will try to continue their dominance versus the other on Wednesday as they visit the Edmonton Oilers. St. Louis has won eight in a row over Edmonton, including a 3-1 victory in the season opener on Oct. 8 and a 4-2 triumph a week later.

Paul Stastny recorded a goal and an assist in the latter meeting with the Oilers and scored twice in a 7-4 setback against Calgary on Monday to increase his point total to seven (three goals, four assists) in his last four games. While St. Louis is engaged in a spirited battle with Dallas and Chicago for the top spot in the Central Division, Edmonton long ago bid adieu to any postseason plans and remains in the cellar of the Western Conference. The Oilers continued their spiral by suffering their eighth home loss in nine outings by dropping a 3-2 decision to Nashville on Monday. "We need to find a way to get the puck to the net and bang one home and maybe an empty-net (goal) and win the game that way," Jordan Eberle told the Oilers' website after scoring for the first time since Feb. 26. "You like the effort and stuff, but moral victories aren't that great."

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), Sportsnet (Edmonton)

ABOUT THE BLUES (41-21-9): Jake Allen is expected to make his 10th consecutive start overall and first this season versus Edmonton on Wednesday. The 25-year-old New Brunswick native yielded four goals for the second straight outing on Monday, earning an early exit in the second period. "We got what we deserved," Allen told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "If we're not prepared (against Edmonton), it's going to be even worse."

ABOUT THE OILERS (27-38-7): Coach Todd McLellan isn't interested in aesthetics, only results - and the team isn't painting a pretty picture with its 1-for-32 performance on the power play in the last 14 games. "It's not about the pretty, it's about the goal," McLellan told the Edmonton Journal. "There's no excuse for some of the things we do on the power play with the talent we can put on the ice, so they have to get some things done." The Oilers, who are 14-11-2 when they score with the man advantage, is 1-for-8 on the power play versus the Blues this season.

OVERTIME

1. St. Louis rookie C Robby Fabbri scored in his NHL debut against Edmonton and set up a tally versus the Flames to extend his point streak to five games (one goal, five assists).

2. Oilers rookie C Connor McDavid was held off the scoresheet in his first two meetings with the Blues.

3. St. Louis D Kevin Shattenkirk has recorded three goals in his last two games and seven points (four assists) in his last six contests.

PREDICTION: Blues 4, Oilers 3

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