THIRD PERIOD
0.0: The Oilers drop their first game back from the holiday break, losing 4-2 to the St. Louis Blues in the first of a five-game trip. Draisaitl scores and McDavid collects an assist as both reach the 50-point mark and Smith denies 29 pucks in his return to action. Edmonton will face the New Jersey Devils on New Year’s Eve in a matinee matchup.
2:32: The Oilers pull Smith in an attempt at the late two-goal comeback.
7:52: Bouchard gets into it along the boards and is called for high sticking against David Perron.
9:31: Tyson Barrie gets a great look from right in front off a faceoff but Binnington is there again to foil the attempt.
13:13: Binnington spins and catches Foegele’s rebound off the endboard, which he did not get good force behind due to pressure from the Blues’ defence. Heck of a save by the puck-stopper.
14:08: Warren Foegele gets tangled up with Colton Parayko behind the net and heads off for holding. Edmonton goes down a man.
14:45: Koekkoek jumps up and activates into the play alongside Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins but can’t get a handle of the puck off Draisaitl’s centring feed.
19:44: Brandon Saad pounces on a rebound to restore St. Louis’ two-goal advantage. | STL 4, EDM 2
20:00: The third period has begun with the Oilers on the penalty kill.
Goals exchanged in the second. Still down by one but with a big third incoming. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/Q6G6CYHjwE
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 30, 2021
SECOND PERIOD
0.0: Bouchard is whistled for hooking as the horn sounds to signal the end of the middle stanza. Edmonton finds themselves down by one after 40 minutes.
4:14: Tarasenko stickhandles then goes forehand on Smith to notch his 13th of the season and third point of the evening. The Blues jump back into the driver’s seat with the go-ahead marker. | STL 3, EDM 2
4:59: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins moves in off the rush from the wing and lets a wrister go but Binnington gets enough of it to avert any danger.
8:11: SEEING 👁️ SHOT! McDavid whips a cheeky short-angle puck on net and then Bouchard slams home the rebound through a flurry of bodies to level the playing field at 2-2 after the Oilers were down by a pair. Bouchard has his sixth goal and McDavid, like Draisaitl, nabs his 50th point with an assist! | EDM 2, STL 2
11:46: Hyman feathers the puck over to a flying McDavid, who has his 5-hole attempt stymied by Binnington in the butterfly position.
16:37: Evan Bouchard is run over from behind by Toropchenko. The defender gets up on his own accord and the Oilers go to the power play.
20:00: The second period has begun!
Down by one after 20 in STL. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/cy3J7C5y4o
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 30, 2021
FIRST PERIOD
0.0: St Louis is unable to get set up on the power play thanks to some stingy checking by the Oilers penalty killers. The first period closes with the Oilers down by a single. Draisaitl pots his 24th of the year and Smith stops 13 of 15 pucks.
3:34: Koekkoekk grabs ahold of Alexei Toropchenko as he’s gliding towards the goal-line, warranting a holding minor against the Edmonton defender. The Oilers get the game’s first penalty.
9:31: Oilers netminder Smith, who hasn’t played in over two months, fights off Logan Brown’s backhand attempt and stays composed when the Blues forward knocks on the door again later in the play.
Leon Draisaitl:
First Oilers player to score 24 goals within the team’s first 30 games since Wayne Gretzky in 1987-88
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 30, 2021
12:29: SYMPHONY OF PIPE 🥅! Leon Draisaitl rips the puck off the post and in to notch his NHL-leading 24th goal of the season and 50th point! He’s the first man in the NHL to reach that mark while Connor McDavid trails by a tick. Kailer Yamamoto and Slater Koekkoek get the helpers as the Oilers cut the deficit in half. | STL 2, EDM 1
13:01: Jordan Kyrou steps around Samorukov then roofs a shot glove side on Smith for the two-goal lead. | STL 2, EDM 0
15:57: The Blues cause a turnover at their own blueline to prompt a 2-on-0 break, allowing Robert Thomas to deposit a tap-in for his third of the year. | STL 1, EDM 0
17:39: Derek Ryan gets a pass from Devin Shore then tries to go backhand on Jordan Binnington but runs out of real estate and hits the outside of the net. Happy birthday to Ryan, who turned 35 today 🎉!
20:00: Let’s go! Mike Smith gets between the pipes after being out since Oct. 19, Zach Hyman is injected into the lineup after missing a few games due to a shoulder injury and Dmitri Samorukov makes his NHL debut on the blueline!
He back. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/Oh6cUbVhmd
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 30, 2021
TONIGHT’S LINEUP
Foegele – McDavid – Hyman
RNH – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Shore – Ryan – Sceviour
Perlini – McLeod – Turris
Keith – Ceci
Koekkoek – Barrie
Samorukov – Bouchard
Smith
Koskinen
OUT: Darnell Nurse, Zack Kassian, Jesse Puljujarvi, William Lagesson, Tyler Benson
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game at STL