Oilers At Blues Morning Open Thread: Gain Some Ground

When last the Blues saw the Edmonton Oilers in action, it was after Thanksgiving and in the middle of a 4-0-1 stretch that made Blues fans forget how much the team was relying on one line. The Blues won that game on November 28th 4-3 in overtime, a game that they should've won easily and had no business winning at all.

Since then, the Blues have hit some highs and some lows of uninspiring play. They seem to have figured out the concept of team play very well during their current four game winning streak, outscoring opponents 24-8. They played down to the Carolina Hurricanes' level in the first period Saturday night, getting Brian Elliott pulled after three goals on ten shots. Then they jacked up the level of play and won in the shootout.

Playing down to Edmonton's level seemed to be an easy thing for the Blues to do. Lessons need to be learned from the initial sloppiness of Saturday, and there's no reason to think that they haven't. Getting as many points as possible on this homestand against weak opponents would go a long way to helping the Blues make up ground... if Chicago and Nashville'd stop doing the same thing.

This is your morning open thread. Check back later for the third and final part of Rick's recollections of the Sweden trip of 2008, and while you're waiting, see how the eternal optimists at The Copper & Blue are doing. They're a pretty damn resilient bunch.