YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
BY THE NUMBERS
2016-17 Head-to-Head: Oilers vs. Blues
Oilers/Blues Stats Comparison
Game Notes: Oilers vs. Blues
2016-17 Oilers Player Statistics
2016-17 Blues Player Statistics
2016-17 NHL Standings
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Tom Gazzola reports on the key storylines prior to tonight's game
PRE-GAME RAW | Nugent-Hopkins
PRE-GAME RAW | Davidson
PRE-GAME RAW | Oilers head coach Todd McLellan
MORE INFORMATION
You can watch tonight's game within the Oilers region on Sportsnet West.
View Oilers Line Combinations
Injury Report
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Inside The Oilers Blog

INSIDE THE OILERS

Line combinations from Monday's morning skate in St. Louis plus news and notes following Edmonton's 3-2 shootout win over Tampa Bay on Saturday.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG

PRE-GAME REPORT

ST. LOUIS, MO - The Oilers kick off a three-game road trip before skating into a five-day Christmas break looking to get things moving in the right direction early on against a St. Louis Blues team that has only lost two times at home all season long.
"Our (team) is a little bigger and a little stronger," said Oilers head coach Todd McLellan when asked about his team's ability to compete with the Blues. "I think we feel better about playing on the road. Our record shows that. We have the ability now to play the game however it's dictated, whether it's fast, slow or rugged. I think that allows us to be in most games -- especially on the road where our road record was really weak last year, it's turned around and we're heading in the right direction."
The Blues also come into the game with the second-best penalty kill in the NHL at 88.5% and seventh-best power play at 21.9%.
"Special teams," McLellan confirmed when asked about what will be the most difficult challenge. "Their special teams are special. They're top 10 in both categories. They rely on their power play a lot. Their back-end has been very active, especially lately getting on the scoresheet. That part of it always presents a challenge for us in playing against this team.
"We've got our work cut out for us."
LINE SHUFFLING
Despite the win on Saturday night against Tampa Bay, the Oilers will be making some changes both up front and on their back-end tonight.
Forward lines are looking to be:
Lucic - McDavid - Eberle
Maroon - Draisaitl - Pitlick
Pouliot - Nugent-Hopkins - Caggiula
Hendricks - Letestu - Kassian
And on defence:
Russell - Sekera
Klefbom - Larsson
Davidson - Gryba
Meaning that Benoit Pouliot is back in the lineup with Taylor Beck and Jesse Puljujarvi the odd-men out. Matt Benning draws out in favour of Eric Gryba.
Cam Talbot gets the start in goal.
POULIOT LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
A healthy scratch on Saturday, Benoit Pouliot continues to try and find answers for his game which has seen him register only seven points this season (5 goals, 2 assists) in 28 contests.
"Benoit, going back in, will give us a spark. At some point, he'll have to really settle in and give us what he has and the coaching staff in turn will have to believe in him and run him for awhile so he does get his confidence back," Coach McLellan began.
"Hopefully tonight's the beginning of that for him. He's such an important part of our team. Yet, his performance has to elevate immensely for us to have success."
When asked what Pouliot needs to improve upon, McLellan elaborated.
"A lot of people look at the stat sheet and whether you're producing goals or assists. There's some areas of his game, some commitment areas, that have absolutely nothing to do with the gamesheet. And often, without the puck, it's picking up the proper people and just picking up the proper people and playing with a higher energy level," he said. "We had a chance to talk about that the other day. Some of his best work has been done penalty killing because in his mind, he's out there with a goal in mind and that's to prevent and he doesn't have to think about offence. If he brings that to his five-on-five play I think he'd be surprise with how quick pucks will start going in for him and his linemates."
Pouliot talked about some of the things he feels he'd like to work on.
"It's not easy, that's for sure. You're in and out and things are not really consistent on my part. I try to keep my head up and work every day and hopefully figure everything out," Pouliot began. "I don't really need Todd or any other coaches to tell me what's going on. I've been in the League long enough to understand what's happening.
"I get it. It's just a matter of me figuring it out."
GRYBA RETURNS
After missing a large handful of games due to injury, Eric Gryba makes his return to the lineup tonight. It was important for the coaching staff to see Gryba get into some action with a Christmas break coming up.
"Eric will get back in on the blueline. We're looking at where we are in the schedule. We've had Davy in two games now. He's beginning to feel a little more comfortable so it's time to run Grybes in," McLellan remarked. "With only three games left until another five-day break we've got to get a game or two in before that Christmas break rolls around or it'll be about a month since he played."
Gryba added that he wants to ensure that he plays a simple game in his return to action.
"Your mind can play tricks on you sometimes. You think you can just step back into where you were before but (you can't). You want to build on those foundation things and not do too much," he said, adding that it's difficult to simulate game conditions.
"You can't. You can bag skate and condition as much as you want but there's nothing like being in game shape. That takes a couple games and that's why you have to keep it simple early."
-- Marc Ciampa, edmontonoilers.com

PREVIEW

OILERS (16-12-5) at BLUES (17-11-4)
TV: 6:00 p.m. MT; Televised on Sportsnet West
Head-to-Head:
Tonight marks the second of three meetings between the Oilers and Blues this season and the first of two games in St. Louis. The next time these teams will meet is on February 28th in St. Louis.
The last time these teams met was on October 20th in Edmonton, where the Oilers won by a score of 3-1.
Oilers team scope:
The Oilers are tied for second in the Pacific Division with Anaheim at 37 points, two points behind San Jose for top spot.
Currently, the Oilers are among the NHL leaders in the following categories:
37 points (16-12-5) - tied for 11th in NHL
95 goals scored - fourth in the NHL
1050 shots on goal - third in the NHL
31.8 shots on goal per game - tied for fifth in the NHL
814 hits - fifth in the NHL
With two points vs. Tampa Bay, forward Leon Draisaitl has moved into 16th spot in NHL scoring, with 28 points (14G, 14A) in 33 games. Since Dec. 1, Draisaitl has 11 points (7G, 4A) in nine games.
Goaltender Cam Talbot leads the NHL in games played (29), minutes (1721:59) and saves (801). With 15 wins, he is tied for fifth place in the NHL, three wins off the league lead of 18 (S. Bobrovsky, CBJ).
Blues team scope:
The St. Louis Blues are third in the Central Division at 38 points. However, they have one of the best home records in the NHL at 13-2-3 (they are 4-9-1 on the road). One of those losses came in their most recent home game this past Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Overall, the Blues have lost four of their last six contests.
Vladimir Tarasenko has 37 points and 15 goals in 32 games. Tarasenko ranks second behind the Oilers Connor McDavid in the entire NHL for points (McDavid has 39). He's also sixth in the NHL in goals with 15.
Kevin Shattenkirk is second on the Blues in scoring with 22 points. Among defencemen in the entire NHL, he's tied for fourth.
The Blues have the second-best penalty kill in the NHL at 88.5% and seventh-best power play at 21.9%.