Tarasenko leads St. Louis Blues past Edmonton Oilers in first game since layoff

Mike Smith stopped 29 shots for the Oilers.

Tarasenko gave the Blues a 3-2 lead on his 13th goal of the season when he skated to the edge of the crease and pushed the puck past Smith with 4:14 remaining in the second period. Tarasenko has scored in four straight games, compiling five goals and four assists during that span.

Saad added his 12th of the season 16 seconds into the third on a power play to make it 4-2.

Thomas scored his third goal after a give-and-go with Tarasenko 4:03 into the first period.

Kyrou scored his 10th nearly three minutes later.

Draisaitl cut St. Louis’ lead to 2-1 when he got his 24th of the season just 32 seconds later.

Bouchard scored his sixth on a shot from outside the faceoff circle that snuck past Binnington to tie it 2-all with 8:11 remaining in the second.

BENCH BOSS

Craig Berube earned his 200th win as an NHL coach, making him the seventh in league history to win 200 games and play in at least 1,000. Berube played in 1,054 games over 17 seasons.

WELCOME TO THE NHL

Oilers D Dmitri Samorukov made his NHL debut. The 22-year-old was a third-round pick by the Oilers in the 2017 draft.

LATE SCRATCH

Blues LW Pavel Buchnevich was scratched with a non-COVID-19 illness. St. Louis dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

UP NEXT

Oilers: At the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

Blues: At the Minnesota Wild on Saturday to compete in the Winter Classic at Target Field.

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David Solomon, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Tarasenko leads St. Louis Blues past Edmonton Oilers in first game since layoff

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