GAME RECAP: Blues 4, Oilers 3 (SO)

EDMONTON, AB - The Edmonton Oilers let a win slip through their grasp on Thursday night in a 4-3 shootout defeat to the St. Louis Blues.
Edmonton had the late lead and a power play with 1:02 remaining in the contest, but a giveaway behind their goal line led to Vladamir Tarasenko equalizing with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Oilers looked to have won it again when Leon Draisaitl scored with 2:38 remaining in overtime, but the play was reviewed and determined to be offside. The game would head to the shootout, where Jordan Kyrou scored the only marker of the skills competition to give the Blues the 2-1 season series win against the Oilers.
"Yeah, obviously we can't let it get to that point," Connor McDavid said after the game. "Up by two with ten minutes left and then a power play with a minute left, so we shouldn't have even been in that situation."
Edmonton will be back in action on Saturday for a matinee contest against the Anaheim Ducks before heading back out on the road next week to take on the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars.

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STARTING LIE-NE UP

The puck was dropped at Rogers Place to start the game, as it usually is, but after a quick whistle, the referees began to confer with one another when it was apparent something out of the ordinary.
In a rarely seen infraction, St. Louis fielded a different starting lineup than what they submitted prior to the game. The result was a two-minute bench minor and an Oilers power play 31 seconds into the contest.
"I think those are honest mistakes. They happen, but if you're alert on the bench and you pay attention to the numbers that were circled compared to who's standing on the blueline and who starts the game, (you can capitalize)," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said about the mistake. "That stuff happens and it allowed us to get on the board immediately."
Edmonton's top-ranked man advantage went to work in the St. Louis Blues zone and it was the red-hot Zach Hyman who broke the ice for the home side. Leon Draisaitl whiffed on a pass at the right circle, but Hyman collected the puck and spun it by Jordan Binnington on the backhand for his fifth goal in the last three games.
The 30-year-old now finds himself in the midst of a nine-game point streak and is off to the best start of his career with 14 goals, 20 assists and 34 points in his first 30 games. Hyman only needs 20 points in the Oilers final 51 contests to surpass his career high in points that he set last season in his first year with the Blue & Orange.

FORESHADOWING?

"I think the one thing I have noticed a little bit more this year from him is his willingness to shoot through defenders. I think the goal in Nashville is a good example of that," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said prior to tonight's game about Connor McDavid's evolution.
McDavid helped his coach look like a prognosticator 4:42 into the second period. With the Oilers on the power play, the Oilers superstar used his impressive wheels to blaze down the St. Louis wing before whipping a perfect shot by both defenceman Justin Faulk and Binnington for the 2-1 lead and his 60th point of the season.
Just over a minute later, it was another pre-game comment that nearly came to fruition.
"I think he scares the other team anytime he's on the ice, to be honest. When a team is on the power play, they're thinking offence and Connor doesn't need much space to make you pay," Devin Shore said about McDavid's abilities on the penalty kill.
Thirty-five seconds after McDavid lit the lamp, the Oilers found themselves shorthanded due to a Kailer Yamamoto holding penalty. Woodcroft sent the always dangerous McDavid out on the kill and he came inches away from the shorthanded marker. The NHL's leading scorer collected his puck and attacked the St. Louis defence with speed, spinning on a dime in front of the defender and backhanding a shot off the far post and out. An inch or so closer and McDavid would have had his second shorthanded goal of the season. He finished the night with 2:25 of PK time, tied for first among all Oilers forwards.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Skinner has continued to be a strong performer for the Oilers early in the season.
Edmonton found themselves in some penalty trouble with time ticking down in the second period, and the Blues narrowly took advantage. St. Louis' leading scorer Robert Thomas picked up the puck from the half wall and tried to slip the cross-crease pass over to Tarasenko at the back door. The feed was blocked in front by Cody Ceci, but Thomas followed up the play and tried to jam the loose puck by Skinner who was sliding the other way. The Oilers goaltender just got enough of his toe on the puck to make the stop before Ceci calmy shovelled the attempt out of danger.

100 FOR YAMO

Kailer Yamamoto is starting to look like his usual self since his return to the Oilers lineup.
The diminutive Oilers forwarded showed off his trademark tenacity part way through the third period, fighting off a Blues defender and tipping a Tyson Barrie point shot by Binnington for his second of the season and 100th NHL point.
Since returning to the lineup on Dec. 5, Yamamoto has picked up four points in six games.

TOP PERFORMER

Binnington hasn't been at his best this season, except when he's been playing the Oilers -- tonight was no different. The St. Louis netminder entered the night's contest with a 3.23 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage, but he had stopped 48-of-50 shots against Edmonton, including a shutout.
The Richmond Hill, ON native was on his game again on Thursday, turning away 24-of-27 shots and shutting down several high-danger scoring chances on the evening. None were more impressive than a sprawling save he made on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with 7:07 remaining in the third period, with Binnington diving and getting his blocker on the shot to deter the puck away from the wide open net.
The save ended up being a vital one for the Blues, whith Tarasenko's late marker allowing the Missouri team to push the game overtime. Binnington went on to make all three stops in the shootout as well to lead St. Louis to victory.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on the overturned goal and the Oilers late game collapse:
"We had the experience in the third round of the playoffs with a similar type thing in Game 1 at the end of the first period. I haven't read the language which yet, so I don't know why that decision was made in the way it was, but I saw Connor have possession over the blue line. The puck, the next time he touched it, I thought he touched it first but they might have a different angle. I don't know. I can't explain that. I haven't read the language of the situation room. In the end though, I don't believe we should even have been put in that situation. I thought we were careless with the puck with 30 seconds left in a game, and that usually doesn't happen for us, and it did tonight."
Connor McDavid on if he was surprised at the overturned goal call:
"A little bit. I think so. We kind of get burned on a call in the playoffs over a similar type of situation. You don't know if it's offside or onside, but the league's got to clarify some of these rules -- what's a kick, what's offside, what's goalie interference -- kind of depends on the night, I guess. So disappointing. Obviously, we should never even let it get to that point. So disappointing."

Tyson Barrie on the ending of the game:
"It's disappointing because the game is right there, but you move on. It's a game of mistakes, that's why people come and watch and obviously we've got to learn how to close those ones out."
Barrie on Darnell Nurse taking accountability after the game:
"Nurse plays such an important role in this team and every night he's playing big minutes against the best players in the world and he's a leader physically. This is hockey, he's going to play over 1000 games, he's going to have a couple of ones he would like back, but I've had a million of those myself. It's just it's part of the game and you move on and that's it. I know Nurse, he's one of the mentally tougher guys I've ever met, so it'll be no problem for him."