Oilers succumb to the Blues 5-3

Edmonton's Shawn Horcoff attempts to get the puck past St. Louis' Ty Conklin Friday, Feb. 4 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

 

---

PRE-GAME

Preview Game Notes Head-to-Head Stats Comparison Video interviews Audio Interviews

PHOTOS

Click here to view the photo gallery

VIDEO

Watch tonight's video highlights. Omark sets up Gagner. Hall flips one in on Conklin. IN FOCUS: Oilers post-game reaction from Hall, Gagner, Dubnyk and coach Renney. THE OTHER SIDE: Blues post-game

AUDIO

Tom Renney Taylor Hall Sam Gagner Devan Dubnyk Audio Highlights

THREE STARS

Andy McDonald, STL TJ Oshie, STL Ty Conklin, STL

UPDATE

With the loss, the Oilers record falls to 15-28-8.

MORE

Under the Scope

WHAT'S NEXT

The Oilers continue their three-game tour of the U.S. midwest Saturday, Feb. 5 in Columbus. The game starts at 5:00pm MT and will be broadcast on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

Despite outshooting their opponent 32-26, the Oilers were unable to overwhelm goaltender Ty Conklin and suffered a 5-3 loss Friday night. Sam Gagner, Taylor Hall, and Theo Peckham all scored for Edmonton, while Devan Dubnyk finished with 21 saves.

Under the Scope

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers posted the first four shots of the game before Jim Vandermeer and Cam Janssen split the first 10 penalty minutes by dropping their gloves two minutes in. On the following face-off, Colin Fraser blocked a shot with his face, forcing him to seek medical attention in the dressing room. He would return later in the game.

Although Edmonton held a considerable shot lead as the period progressed, St. Louis was the first to make one count. After surging up the ice near the nine-minute mark, TJ Oshie caught a bang-on centering pass from Alex Steen and went top pocket on Dubnyk to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.

Three minutes later, the Oilers got that one back. From behind Conklin's net, Linus Omark faked a pass and then went the other way, getting the puck to Gagner in the opposite face-off dot. Gagner promptly snapped home the equalizer.

But the Blues quickly regained their lead. Only 20 seconds after Gagner's goal, Alex Pietrangelo sunk a wrist-shot to set the score 2-1.

Edmonton benefited from the game's first power-play shortly after the go-ahead goal. St. Louis stifled the man-advantage, however, and prevented the visitors from tallying a 13th attempt.

The score stuck until the buzzer, and the Oilers headed to the second period leading by eight shots but trailing one goal.

SECOND PERIOD

The Oilers increased their shot lead in the first half of the middle frame, eventually making it 17-6. Near the game's midway point, Vandermeer nearly doubled his penalty minutes by adding two minutes for slashing and two for cross-checking.

Although Edmonton killed the first penalty, Matt D'Agostini tipped in Nikita Nikitin's top-of-the-slot slapshot early in the second infraction, putting St. Louis up 3-1.

Just over one minute later, the Blues increased their lead by one more. Crowded by a group of players in his crease, Dubnyk couldn't keep a deflection from bumbling across the line. After a brief video review, Brad Boyes was credited with the goal.

But the Oilers soon got back within two. With help from Andrew Cogliano and Jordan Eberle, Hall benefited from his own deflection, directing the puck up over Conklin and into the net.

With 68 seconds left on the clock, the visitors narrowed the gap even further. A frantic scene in front of Conklin concluded with a terrific mid-air swipe from Peckham that sent the puck soaring into the mesh.

The goal capped a high-scoring middle frame in which the Blues emerged with a narrow 4-3 lead.

THIRD PERIOD

Exciting back-and-forth play characterized the early part of the third. Six minutes in, Dubnyk stood on his head to keep the puck out of the net, only to be bested by a sneaky shot from Brad Winchester that set the score 5-3.

With 9:17 remaining in regulation, a collision between Hall and Conklin triggered a pile-up beside the net. A goaltender interference minor to Hall and roughing minors to Ladislav Smid and Oshie netted St. Louis' third power-play of the game. The home team was unable to capitalize.

Edmonton opted for six skaters in the final minute but the strategy resulted only in another shoving match. St. Louis won the game 5-3.