Stastny, Steen help Blues beat Oilers 4-2
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) The St. Louis Blues picked up their intensity in the second period and handed the winless Edmonton Oilers another loss.
Paul Stastny and Alexander Steen scored in the third period to lead St. Louis to a 4-2 victory Thursday night, spoiling the Oilers' home opener.
Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for the Blues, who beat Edmonton for the eighth straight time. Stastny, Steen and Lehtera also each had an assist, and Brian Elliott stopped 24 shots.
''The game in the first period was up for grabs,'' Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. ''Edmonton was probably a bit more energized, but halfway through the second period we started to get on the grind and took it over. We did a good job at the end of the second period and a great job the whole third period.''
Lauri Korpikoski and Taylor Hall scored and Cam Talbot had 25 saves for the Oilers, who fell to 0-4-0. No. 1 draft pick Connor McDavid was held without a point in his first regular season game in Edmonton.
The Oilers have missed the playoffs the last nine seasons, spending most of the time near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
''I think the whole fan base is impatient right now and we are feeling that right now,'' Hall said. ''We don't want to be down 0-4 to start the year. That's probably the worst-case scenario. When you looked at it mid-summer, this is probably the worst you could have imagined. We have to find a way.''
The Blues took a 2-1 lead with four minutes to play in the second period as a faceoff win in the Edmonton zone came back to Tarasenko, who blasted in his third of the season.
Steen sent a shot in front that deflected off Stastny and in for a power-play goal at 4:20 of the third to extend the lead to 3-1.
Hall pulled Edmonton back within one a little more than two minutes later, battling for a puck in front before lifting a backhand shot into the net.
However, Steen sealed the win with 2:09 remaining as he sent a one-timer past Talbot for his second of the season.
Edmonton head coach Todd McLellan said the whole team is tense at the moment.
''We have a little bit of a roller coaster thing going on right now where we get a little bit of momentum and then the other team will come back and score and we sag a bit,'' McLellan said. ''Emotionally, we are up and down quite a bit and that comes from not winning.''
It didn't take the Oilers long to get on the board, scoring on the game's first shot as a fortunate bounce off the boards came out front to Korpikoski, who buried it past Elliott 1:36 into the game.
St. Louis bounced back 1 1/2 minutes later as Troy Brouwer's shot caromed off the post to Lehtera, who beat Talbot.
The Blues took a 2-1 lead with four minutes to play in the second period as a faceoff win in the Edmonton zone came back to Tarasenko, who blasted in his third of the season.
The Blues play the fourth game of a season-high six-game road swing at Vancouver on Friday. The Oilers head back out on the road to play the Flames in Calgary on Saturday.
NOTE: The last time Edmonton defeated St. Louis was a 3-0 shutout in March 2013. ... Blues rookie Robby Fabbri was out with a concussion. Also absent for the Blues was D Kevin Shattenkirk (lower body injury). ... The Oilers remained without winger Jordan Eberle (shoulder). ... It was the final home opener at Rexall Place, as the Oilers will move into their new rink to start next season.
