'Wednesday Night Hockey': 5 Storylines

Connor McDavid will be in the lineup when the Edmonton Oilers play the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center in the first game of a "Wednesday Night Hockey" doubleheader (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS). McDavid sat out Edmonton's 4-1 loss at the Dallas Stars on Monday because of an illness.

In the second game, the Anaheim Ducks will try for their fifth consecutive victory when they play the Chicago Blackhawks at Honda Center (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, WGN). The Ducks return home after winning the final four games of a five-game road trip, capped by a 6-5 win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday in a game they trailed by four goals in the second period.
Here are 5 storylines to watch:

McDavid's status

McDavid was at center between Alex Chiasson and Leon Draisaitl at practice Tuesday and will dress against the Blues. The Oilers don't generate a ton of goals even with McDavid in the lineup; they're 27th in the NHL at 2.63 goals per game. McDavid leads Edmonton with 36 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 26 games, and he's a threat to score or set up a goal every time he's on the ice. The two-time defending NHL scoring champion is the most dynamic player in the League today, and to say the Oilers aren't the same without him is an understatement.

Hitchcock's influence

The loss at Dallas dropped the Oilers (13-12-2) to 4-2-1 under Ken Hitchcock, who took over after coach Todd McLellan was fired Nov. 20. But there's no mistaking that the Oilers look like a different team under their new coach. Hitchcock has brought structure and additional discipline to a team that has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs once since 2006. The Edmonton native also has decided to lean on his stars, McDavid and Draisaitl; each has seen his ice time spike since the coaching change. McDavid has played at least 23:25 in six games under Hitchcock, and Draisaitl has played at least 24:24 in each of Edmonton's past five games, including a season-high 25:25 against Dallas.

Battered Blues

St. Louis (9-13-3) enters the game last in the Central Division and riddled with injuries. The Blues placed their captain, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, on injured reserve Monday, along with forward Robby Fabbri and defenseman Carl Gunnarsson. All have upper-body injuries. St. Louis recalled three players from San Antonio of the American Hockey League; the most notable is 20-year-old forward
Jordan Kyrou
, a second-round pick (No. 35) in the 2016 NHL Draft who is regarded as one of its top prospects. Coach Craig Berube likely will use Kyrou on a line with Brayden Schenn and David Perron, with Ryan O'Reilly centering Zach Sanford and rookie Robert Thomas, Tyler Bozak at center between Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Maroon, and a fourth line of Ivan Barbashev, Oskar Sundqvist and
Jordan Nolan
, another of the call-ups.

Ducks on a roll

Anaheim (14-10-5) is playing some of its best hockey of the season. It's gotten a lift from forward Pontus Aberg, who was claimed on waivers from the Oilers on Oct. 1. Aberg leads the Ducks with nine goals and is fourth with 14 points. He scored twice, including the game-winner, in the comeback against Washington.

Blackhawks looking for answers

Chicago (9-14-5) fired longtime coach Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6, but the problems haven't ended in their first month under new coach Jeremy Colliton. The Blackhawks were 6-6-3 when they changed coaches; since then, they are 3-8-2 and have lost four in a row. The Blackhawks are 20th in the NHL in scoring with 77 goals, but their bigger problems have been in their own zone; they've allowed 103 goals in 28 games. Starting goaltender Corey Crawford is 0-5-0 and has allowed 23 goals in his past five games, and is 2-10-1 after a 3-1-0 start following his return from a concussion sustained Dec. 23, 2017.