Oilers, Predators out to improve positioning in playoff race
The Edmonton Oilers return home to host the Nashville Predators on Sunday, looking to move on from a 3-2 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.
"I think the first two periods, we were playing extremely well, and even in the third, we had some chances and a good push," said Kasperi Kapanen, who opened the scoring.
"It sucks right now, but we just got to forget this one and move on."
Connor McDavid also scored for the Oilers as they jumped to a 2-0 lead. However, the Blues responded with three unanswered to steal the extra point.
Connor Ingram made 22 saves for Edmonton, which has dropped back-to-back games while clinging to the third seed in the Pacific Division.
"I don't think it could have went much better for us in the first 40 minutes and in the third with a nice lead," said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. "(St. Louis) had a strong push, and it's unfortunate that it could have been an outstanding road trip getting three out of the four, but losing and only getting one point in the last two games is disappointing for us."
The Oilers, who are 16-11-4 on home ice, open a four-game homestand looking to improve on a 4-5-1 stretch.
McDavid entered Saturday with a league-leading 74 assists and 111 points and paces the Oilers with 37 goals through 67 games.
Ingram is 9-6-2 in 20 games, posting an .891 save percentage and a 2.79 goals-against average. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton's other goalie, is 11-8-4 with an .891 save percentage and a 2.83 GAA in 23 games.
Edmonton was without Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on Friday night. The Oilers forward returned home for personal reasons and was replaced in the lineup by Max Jones.
Sunday is the teams' third and final meeting. The Oilers picked up a 6-2 home win on Jan. 6. Seven days later, the Predators responded with a 4-3 home victory in overtime.
Nashville travels to Edmonton as part of a five-game road trip, looking to keep its Western Conference wild-card chase alive. The Predators, 3-4-3 over their last 10, trailed the Los Angeles Kings by two points for the final spot entering Saturday's action.
The Predators have been off since Thursday night, when they surrendered a 3-1 lead and lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Vancouver Canucks.
Tyson Jost scored a pair and Matthew Wood had the other for the Predators, who are 12-14-6 on the road. Juuse Saros made 24 saves.
Wood's goal extended his career-high point streak to four games (four goals, one assist).
"Grateful to get a point. Probably didn't deserve one," Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. "(Vancouver was) the better team from the puck drop, and it's one of those nights for a group that we're kind of hard to figure out. Obviously, it hurts blowing a two-goal lead late in the game, but we didn't really deserve to be in the game."
Steven Stamkos has a team-high 31 goals in 65 games, while Ryan O'Reilly paces the Predators with 39 assists and 61 points through 64 contests.
Saros is 23-19-7 with an .893 save percentage and a 3.15 GAA in 50 starts. He handled both previous games with the Oilers.