St. Louis Blues vs. Edmonton Oilers: Game Preview
The St. Louis Blues will aim to lengthen their winning streak to five games on Tuesday night when they face the Edmonton Oilers. The Blues, who will be playing the third game of a seven-game homestand at Scottrade Center, have outscored their opponents 25-8 over their four-game streak, though things got a little bit too close for comfort on Saturday night, as they had to settle a 4-4 tie with the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout.
Edmonton really shouldn’t be a challenge for the Blues, considering that they’re the worst team in the NHL with just 29 points this season. However, they can’t be taken for granted. Things were contentious in the teams’ previous meeting this season, as the Blues won 4-3 in overtime. With that said, the Blues were without defenseman Jay Bouwmeester in that game and had just lost starting goalie Brian Elliott to a long-term injury. Meanwhile, Edmonton has traded away perhaps their best player, former Blues forward David Perron, since the teams’ last meeting.
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The Blues’ lineup is expected to remain the same on Tuesday, though it’s possible that defenseman Ian Cole could get back into the lineup in place of Chris Butler, who had a minus-4 rating in the Blues’ game against the Hurricanes on Saturday. Cole, who has been solid this year while scoring three goals, adding two assists, and registering a plus-9 rating, has been a healthy scratch for the past three games. Unless something changes prior to game time, forward Joakim Lindstrom will be a healthy scratch for the sixth straight game.
Jake Allen will get a start in goal for the first time in 2015 on Tuesday night. The rookie goaltender hasn’t started a game since the Blues’ December 27 loss to the Dallas Stars, although he did relieve Brian Elliott in the first period of Saturday’s game against Carolina and went on to get the win in a 5-4 shootout victory. Coach Ken Hitchcock didn’t disclose during Monday’s practice whether Allen’s backup on Tuesday would be Elliott or Martin Brodeur, though with Brodeur having been a healthy scratch for five of the past six games, Tuesday would seem like a good opportunity to at least get him suited up and allow him to participate in warmups.