GAME RECAP: Blues 2, Oilers 0

EDMONTON, AB - The St. Louis Blues scored early and then held on the rest of the way.
Defenceman Torey Krug scored on the powerplay 5:04 into the first period and goaltender Jordan Binnington locked down the St. Louis crease with a shut-out effort of 23 saves in a 2-0 win for the Blues over the Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday afteroon.
Defenceman Justin Faulk sent a 200-foot shot into the empty Oilers net in the last minute to wrap up the low-event but tightly-contested matinee contest and keep the Blues undefeated at 3-0-0 to begin this season.
Netminder Jack Campbell was solid with 21 saves behind an Oilers offence that just couldn't generate anything in front of him, as Edmonton falls to 2-3-0 this campaign through five games.
The Oilers wrap up their season-opening six-game homestand on Monday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit Rogers Place.

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FIRST BLOOD

The Blues were awarded an early power-play opportunity when Leon Draisaitl inadvertendly took down Vladimir Tarasenko with a trip in Edmonton's defensive end.
Ultimately, it would be the game's decisive moment.
Tarasenko provided the set-up for St. Louis that would make Draisaitl and the Oilers pay for their only penalty taken over the course of the game's 60 minutes when the Russian sent it up top for Krug to one-time top shelf past Jack Campbell for his first goal of the season.

SAVE OF THE GAME

We saw some sensational goaltending at both ends of the rink in the second period, and Campbell was critical on more than one occasion to bail out his defence and keep it a one-goal game.
With eight minutes left in the middle frame, Brett Kulak tried to begin the breakout for the Oilers and sauce a pass to the halfboards for Draisaitl, but a stalwart Ryan O'Reilly used his hand-eye coordination to bat the puck out of mid-air and crate a grade-A chance for Jordan Kyrou in the slot.
Campbell lunged forward in his crease and flashed the right pad to completely rob the St. Louis winger and draw arguably the loudeest 'Soooooouuuuup!' chants we've heard so far from the Rogers Place crowd.
From there, it really looked like the Oilers were playing for their netminder, with Edmonton's best shift coming right after the massive save from Soup. Jordan Binnington was holding his own at the other end too, however, with a monstrous glove stop on Nugent-Hopkins soon after.

NO WAY THROUGH THE BLUES

The Oilers just needed one of their few chances to go in to keep their hopes for two points alive, but it wasn't meant to be on this occasion.
"Obviously we didn't have much going offensively tonight," forward Leon Draisaitl said. "Sometimes one of those bounces is nice, but we couldn't really even get to one of those bounces."

Edmonton was stifled by St. Louis' netminder in Binnington, but also a stingy defence that blocked 25 shots and utilized their tight-defending style of play to see out a hockey game that was 1-0 up until the last minute.
"That's the style of game they like to play," defenceman Tyson Barrie said. "Give them credit, they executed pretty well tonight, but like you mentioned, we had some looks but nothing really broke for us. They're goalie played well, they got that early power-play goal, and that was kind of the difference."

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on the Blues tight defence:
"Yeah, it was a 1-0 hockey game and it was a power play goal against us that happened in the first few minutes of the game. I actually thought we had some good chances right off the bat. We didn't score on them. We took an O-zone penalty and it ended up in the back of our net. They made one more play there than we did, and they found themselves up 1-0 on the road. They are a good hockey team, but I thought it was two good hockey teams that played a tight game, and that one moment of the game led to us not winning it."
Woodcroft on if he's happy with how the Oilers played defensively:
"We're not in the business of taking moral victories. We're in the business of getting better each day. That was a good team that we played tonight. There was some good in our game, but there has to be more for us to get the result that we want to get."
Woodcroft on the Blues bogging down the Oilers offence:
"Yes. It certainly was a muddy track out there. That's the way they play. I thought we were comfortable. I didn't think we pressed anything. I didn't think we forced anything that wasn't there. I think there can be a little bit more substance in the offensive zone, but you got to give credit to the other team."

Woodcroft if the Oilers were frustrated by the Blues:
"Yeah, I think we're a fairly veteran group, and I didn't sense frustration. I thought guys were saying good things on the bench and trying to find that next opportunity to put one in. And their goal tender played well, and their team played well. They limited chances, but certainly we're looking for a little bit more substance offensive."
Woodcroft on needing to win these tight-checking games in the playoffs:
That team has had the success they've had for a reason. The one across the hallway there is a perennial playoff team to play deep a lot of times. So yeah, I mean you're talking about what's going to happen in April, but this is our fifth game of the year. We have played, in my opinion, five one-goal hockey games. There's been some empty-net goals here or there, but we've been in five. That's the way the league is right now."
Brett Kulak on the tight checking game:
"It's more tight, it's more physical. You have less time and space and the ice just kind of shrinks up a little bit and then the plays aren't pretty and it's just those little small battles and small five, six foot passes that make the difference at the end of the day."
Kulak on the flow of the game:
"I think St. Louis, they come with a certain style from the start, and you feel that right away, you know, they're not going to play run and gun with you and just open things up. They're going to play a certain way and try to limit your chances and wait for you to make mistakes. So that's what they did tonight, and they were comfortable in that game, and Soupy kept us in the game all night, and it was just one of those things maybe pop one shot and it's a different story."

Leon Draisaitl on the way the game played out:
"I mean, they're a good team. That's a playoff team. They've won before. They know how to play a tight checking game. So do we, I thought for the most part, but a little sloppy in some areas."
Draisaitl on waiting for a break that never came:
"Yeah, like I just said, it's just one of those games where you maybe hope for a bounce, but we didn't even get ourselves into the position to get a bounce, so yeah, tough loss."
Tyson Barrie on the Blues managing the game:
"Yeah, that's the style of game they like to play and, you know, give them credit. They executed it pretty well today. But like you mentioned, we had some luck. Nothing really broke for us. The goalie played well, obviously, and they got that early power play goal, and that was kind of the difference."
Barrie on what went wrong with the offence:
"I don't know if we got as many shots in the net as we maybe could have, maybe passed up a couple of opportunities and just some sustained o-zone time. I think we didn't have very many sequences in the game where we were really laying it on them and putting the pressure on them. So I don't know. I'm sure we'll discuss it and try to see what went wrong for us tonight and what made us not be able to sustain that pressure, but we'll be moving on."