EDMONTON, AB - 'Tight-checking' has been the overlying theme for the Edmonton Oilers in recent games.
Don't expect Thursday night's meeting with the St. Louis Blues, one of the NHL's perennial defensive outfits during the 21st century, to be any different.
The Oilers have had to fight for open ice and opportunities over their last seven or so games, including three against the always-stingy Minnesota Wild, and will have to take care of business tonight when they open a mini two-game homestand at Rogers Place against St. Louis.
St. Louis and Edmonton have been on opposite trajectories over the last two games, with the Oilers enjoying the second-best record (7-3-0) and best goals per game (4.30) in the NHL over their last 10 games. The Blues, conversely, have a 3-7-1 record since winning seven straight games, while allowing an NHL-high 4.45 goals against per game since November 23.
Thursday will be the third and final contest between the Oilers and Blues after waging two low-scoring 2-0 and 3-1 affairs back in the early part of the 2022-23 NHL season, with each club earning a victory back in October. With the exception of some empty-net goals, both games in essence were close one-goal games.
"Well, I thought both of the games that we played were tight-checking affairs,' Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We lost a 1-0 game on a power-play goal against, and we won 2-1 late in St. Louis. I thought both those games were so early in their season, and early in our season, that I thought they were pretty well-played games for that early.
"I can't speak to their team, I can only speak to our team, and we expect a really experienced and hardworking St. Louis Blues team tonight and we're preparing hard for them."
KOSTIN SINGS THE BLUES
For Oilers forward Klim Kostin, he won't be looking anywhere beyond his own performance when he suits up for the first time against his former club tonight.
"I think just like a regular game for me. It's always nice to meet the old teammates, old team, so let's just have some fun," he said. "I just want to prove to myself that they were wrong. I don't want to prove to anyone, just to myself."
Kostin was acquired via trade from the blues for defenceman Dmitri Samorukov in early October and navigated nine games with the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL before getting his first shot in the Blue & Orange of the Oilers against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 12.
Since then, he's served his new club amicably with a strong physical game and two goals and two assists in 14 games. All of his offence has come in the last seven games, including a multi-point performance in a loss to the Wild.
"I think over time, he's shown that he represents a different dimension than what we have here in Edmonton," Woodcroft said. "He's a huge man that plays a fairly simple, straightforward game. He's at his best when he's going north and gets physical, and he's given us some real good minutes. So he's been a positive addition to our team."