Oilers look to shed October blues against St. Louis
CTV
After hitting their offensive stride against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Edmonton Oilers hope to keep rolling when they face the St. Louis Blues Saturday to continue their season-opening six-game homestand.
After hitting their offensive stride against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Edmonton Oilers hope to keep rolling when they face the St. Louis Blues Saturday to continue their season-opening six-game homestand.
The Oilers rebounded from back-to-back losses to Calgary and Buffalo to skate past the Hurricanes 6-4 on Thursday.
"Being 2-2 is nothing to write home about, but we'll take it," said Connor McDavid, who leads the Oilers with 10 points in four games. "We don't want it to be as scrambly as it has been, but that is hockey in October. There are mistakes made, but you have to find ways to get wins. They count just the same now as they do later in the year."
Looking for more offense, Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft moved Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from third-line center to left wing on the line with Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman. The trio produced eight points against the Hurricanes.
"I think good teams need to rise to the challenge when they're playing other good teams," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We knew what to expect. We knew they were a good team and they play hard. They don't give up a whole lot. We had that mentality going in, keeping it simple and just trying to outwork them every shift.
"I'm pretty proud of the group to bounce back after a couple of tough games. There was no panic in here. We just have to keep going now."
Edmonton goaltender Jack Campbell faced 40 shots in the wide-open game and made 36 saves. Campbell, who went to Edmonton as a free agent following two-plus seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, is 2-1-0 with a 5.08 goals-against average with his new team.
