The Blues came back from a 2-0 deficit to pull even with the Oilers early in the third period, but it was the Oilers who got the next goal and went on to beat the Blues, 4-2, on Friday night in Edmonton, Alberta.
Forward Robert Thomas had gotten the Blues even 2:12 into the third, not long after he had put a shot off the post. This time, he swatted in a shot from in front of the goal off a pass from Tyler Bozak.
Just 2:01 later, Edmonton regained the lead. The Blues had the puck in the Edmonton end but the Oilers got it out of the zone and when Justin Faulk came across the ice to defend, it left both defensemen on that side and Leon Draisaitl alone on the right, where Kailer Yamamoto threaded a perfect pass to him and he scored his second goal of the night.
The Blues had a chance to tie when they went on a power play with 3 minutes to play. Just past the halfway mark in the penalty, the Blues pulled goalie Jake Allen for a two-man advantage, but the timing couldn't have been worse. Just as Allen came off, Edmonton got possession and Josh Archibald scored into an empty net with 1:41 to play.
After being outshot 13-3 in the first period, the Blues finished the game almost even at 35-32. The Blues close out their four-game Western Canada trip on Saturday night in Winnipeg.
A much better second period got the Blues back in their game with the Oilers, but not all the way back, as they cut the lead in half on a goal by David Perron.
The Blues outshot the Oilers 14-8 and the Oilers got most of those in the final several minutes as the Blues kept steady pressure on the Edmonton goal. After being down 30-13 in shot attempts after the first period, the Blues cut that gap to 47-44 after two periods.
Both teams had a power play in the second period, but neither team was able to score.
Zach Sanford fed the puck from behind the net to Alex Pietrangelo at the point, who blasted a shot that was blocked in front. Perron, on his knees in front and facing away from the goal, backhanded the puck inside the far post with 9:03 to go in the second.
Blues coach Craig Berube wasn't happy with the way his team played in its win over Calgary on Tuesday. After two days off, he couldn't have been too pleased with how his team played in the first period.
The Blues were thoroughly outplayed in the first period, being outshot 13-3, with Edmonton having a 30-13 edge in shot attempts, and trailing 2-0 after one period. Edmonton had two other shots go off the post.
It was the fewest shots for the Blues in a period this season. They seemed to have a tough time getting the puck out of their own end.
Draisaitl started the scoring for Edmonton. Pietrangelo's pass attempt to Jay Bouwmeester leaving the Blues zone didn't connect, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins grabbed the puck in the neutral zone. He passed to Draisaitl who quickly wound up for a slapshot on Jake Allen and beat him for his 28th goal of the season.
Seventeen seconds later it was 2-0 when Caleb Jones took a shot from outside that took a dip right before Allen and then trickled through his pads and in.
The Blues had a power play but couldn't score, with Justin Faulk shooting wide on a good chance in close. The Blues finished with no shots on goal in the power play.
