St. Louis 5, Edmonton 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees:
Don VanMassenhoven, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, Don Henderson
Attendance:
16839
By SportsDirect Inc.
BLUES 5, OILERS 2: Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk scored a power-play goal and added two assists as St. Louis rolled past host Edmonton to improve to 4-0-0 on its six-game road trip.
Andy McDonald recorded his first two-goal performance of the season, Scott Nichol ended a 15-game goalless drought and Chris Stewart converted a penalty shot for the Blues, who climbed within one point of league-leading Vancouver with their 10th win in 13 contests.
McDonald opened the scoring 59 seconds into the game as he beat Devan Dubnyk from the right faceoff circle during a 2-on-1 rush. Nichol scored on a blast from the top of the right circle just over two minutes into the second period and McDonald buried a backhander from alone in front 5 1/2 minutes later to give St. Louis a 3-0 lead and chase Dubnyk.
Defenseman Corey Potter and rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got Edmonton within a goal later in the period, but Shattenkirk redirected a pass by fellow blue-liner Alex Pietrangelo past Yann Danis 3 1/2 minutes into the third to make it 4-2.
Taylor Hall hooked Stewart during a breakaway at 7:54 to set up the penalty shot. Stewart deked to his backhand before sliding the puck around Danis' left pad for his third goal in five games.
Dubnyk made 16 saves and Danis stopped 10 shots while defenseman Nick Schultz notched an assist in his debut with the Oilers, who have lost five of six at home. Schultz was acquired from Minnesota on Monday for fellow blue-liner Tom Gilbert.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Danis replaced Dubnyk at 7:34 of the second period and did not face a shot until 1:48 of the third. Danis was making his first appearance in the NHL since March 28, 2010 with New Jersey. ... Edmonton successfully killed Ryan Smyth's five-minute penalty for checking from behind in the middle session, keeping St. Louis from registering a shot on goal. ... Shattenkirk's three-point effort was the second of his career. The first came against Minnesota on Nov. 27, 2010 while with Colorado. ... The Blues' four-game road winning streak is their first since Feb. 19-March 6, 2009.
Top Game Performances
St. Louis |
|
Edmonton |
Kevin Shattenkirk 3 |
Points |
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 1 |
Andy McDonald 2 |
Goals |
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 1 |
Kevin Shattenkirk 2 |
Assists |
Taylor Hall 1 |
Kevin Shattenkirk 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jaroslav Halak .917 |
Save Percentage |
Devan Dubnyk .842 |
Jaroslav Halak 22 |
Saves |
Devan Dubnyk 16 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
St. Louis
|
31 |
5 |
1-4 |
1-1 |
9 |
26 |
Edmonton
|
24 |
2 |
0-1 |
3-4 |
28 |
22 |
Upcoming Games
-
Edmonton will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Oilers have a W/L % of .360 after a win and .421 after a loss.
-
St. Louis will play their next game on the road against Vancouver. The Blues have a W/L % of .615 after a win and .640 after a loss.