The Blues headed into Edmonton with a two-game win streak for the fourth time this season, hoping to finally string together three wins in a row. Instead, they were thoroughly dominated by the Oilers, falling 5-0. St. Louis drops to 19-22-8, slipping further from a wild-card spot as struggles continue to mount.

Ugly First Period

When you think of a first period that is completely one-sided, this is it. It didn’t take long for the Oilers to strike first at 5:55 while on the power play, after Brayden Schenn was called for slashing at 5:18. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, playing in his 1,000th career game, opened the scoring. After a pass from Evan Bouchard that set him up in the slot, he ripped a shot over Jordan Binnington’s left shoulder to make it 1–0.

After that goal, you could tell it really set the tone for the rest of the game. At 11:52, Andrew Mangiapane made it 2–0. A few lost puck battles allowed Curtis Lazar to get a shot off from the right circle. Binnington coughed up a big rebound, and on top of that, Cam Fowler lost the battle in front, allowing Mangiapane to stuff home the rebound.

Then, to end the first period at 18:43, Zach Hyman added another after tipping in a point shot from Mattias Ekholm. Colton Parayko tried to clear the puck from the front of the net but slapped it right to Ekholm at the point. With no pressure on him, Hyman easily got a tip on the puck.

Three penalties in the first period alone by the Blues put a lot of pressure on the defense during that stretch. Many great opportunities were allowed, but the Oilers only capitalized on one. The Blues had a chance on the power play but didn’t register a single shot.

Not Much Progress in Second Period

When you have a rough first period as a team, there’s still plenty of time to turn things around. While the Blues didn’t allow another three goals, it didn’t get much better.

At 10:52 into the second, Hyman scored his second goal of the game, and the play completely deflated the Blues. Ekholm made a stretch pass to McDavid entering the zone, and he found Hyman for a one-timer. As if things couldn’t get worse, the puck deflected off Parayko’s skate to make it 4–0.

The Blues had two more power plays but failed on both, totaling just three shots. They were given opportunities to turn things around, but couldn’t capitalize on the man advantages.

Third Period Was the Cherry on Top of an Awful Game

The Oilers wasted no time adding another insurance goal to hurt the Blues feelings even more. At 1:19, Connor McDavid set up a highlight-reel play. He dumped the puck into the zone and fell while going for it. Sliding on his knees, he gathered the puck, spun, and launched a pass to Vasily Podkolzin in front of the net, who tapped it in to make it 5–0.

But the saddest part of the game for the Blues wasn’t the shutout. Midway through the third period, McDavid and Oskar Sundqvist got tangled up, and both fell awkwardly. McDavid got up fine, but Sundqvist stayed down, grabbing his leg. He suffered a deep cut just above his ankle, which was confirmed after the game by Head Coach Jim Montgomery. The staff rushed him off the ice, and while it looked serious, the best-case scenario is that it is not an Achilles tear.

“Luckily, it did not touch his Achilles,” Montgomery said after the game. “So it’s just going to be now, how long he’s out, it’s day-to-day… We know the cut was deep, I don’t know how long that takes until he’s back and has the flexibility in his ankle without hurting the cut.”

It was a tough way to end a game where the Blues were dominated, and the team will be hoping for a quick recovery.

Overall

It was a night to forget for the Blues in Edmonton. From the opening puck drop, they were outplayed in nearly every aspect of the game and lost another chance at a three-game win streak. The power play was nonexistent, puck battles were consistently lost, and there was no pushback at any point. Jordan Binnington stopped 23 of 28 shots for an .821 save percentage, but it was a tough night to blame him with very little help in front, even though it seems to be a common theme with him in net.

A tough game to move on from, but if they want to turn things around, this one has to be forgotten soon.

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