Oilers Beat Blues For Second Straight in NHL

By ESPN

 Opposing players are starting to take note of what could finally be significant improvement from the Edmonton Oilers.

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist as the Oilers won their second straight game in a strong start to the season, defeating the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Thursday night.

"They are not the Oilers of the last few years, I'll tell you that," Blues goalie Jake Allen said. "They are a good hockey club and obviously made some good additions to their team."

Tyler Pitlick and off-season free-agent signing Milan Lucic scored for Edmonton, which improved to 4-1-0 on the season.

"Starting 4-1, we couldn't ask for a better start," McDavid said. "I think we're feeling pretty good about ourselves, but I think it's about keeping it on an even keel."

Beating one of the best teams in the league was definitely a boost, according to Lucic.

"It's a huge win," he said. "We talked about getting off to a good start, having a good first five games to get our team rolling and build some confidence before the Heritage Classic. It was great that we were able to play a really good game against a really good team."

Nail Yakupov replied for the Blues (3-1-1) in his return to Edmonton since he was traded to St. Louis earlier this month.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock felt his team let one get away.

"We've really wasted some great goaltending displays by Jake. He's been outstanding and given us a chance to win both of these last two games," said Hitchcock, who watched his team lose 2-1 in overtime to Vancouver on Tuesday.

"It's unfortunate with the way he has been playing to only come out with one point from these last two games."

Thursday, October 20 Scoreboard

Thursday, October 20  Scoreboard

Boston 2, New Jersey 1

Anaheim 3, Philadelphia 2

Pittsburgh 3, San Jose 2

Montreal 5, Arizona 2

Colorado 4, Tampa Bay 0

Washington 4, Florida 2

Minnesota 3,  Toronto 2

Los Angeles 4, Dallas 3 (OT)

Carolina 4, Calgary 2

Edmonton 3, St. Louis 1

Vancouver 2, Buffalo 1

Friday, October 21 Schedule (All Times Central)

Arizona at New York Islanders, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Columbus, 6 p.m.

Nashville at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

Montreal at Boston, 6 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

San Jose at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Colorado at Florida, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at New Jersey, 6 p.m.

Carolina at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

New York Rangers at Washington, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Chicago, 6 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Nashville, 7 p.m.

Columbus at Dallas, 7 p.m.

St. Louis at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Vancouver at Los Angeles, 9 p.m.

Sunday, October 23 Schedule (All Times Central)

Edmonton at Winnipeg, 2 p.m.

Minnesota at New York Islanders, 5 p.m.

Arizona at New York Rangers, 6 p.m.

Vancouver at Anaheim, 7 p.m.