Justin Faulk of the St. Louis Blues and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers fight for control of the puck during the second period of Wednesday night’s NHL game in Edmonton, April 9, 2025. (Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson)
Connor McDavid made a strong return from injury, tallying three assists to help the Edmonton Oilers pull off a tight 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. His comeback lifted an Oilers team still battling through key injuries, as they edge closer to securing a playoff spot.
Connor Brown stepped up with two goals for Edmonton, while Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson added one each. With this win, the Oilers (45-28-5) snapped a two-game losing streak and are now within touching distance of postseason qualification. However, they missed out on clinching a spot outright because the Calgary Flames earned a point in an overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
The Oilers celebrated McDavid’s return but were still without eight regular players. Notably missing were scoring leader Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, key defenseman Mattias Ekholm, and starting goaltender Stuart Skinner. Despite the short-handed lineup, the Oilers found a way to get the job done.
Calvin Pickard, stepping in between the pipes, made 23 saves to earn the win for Edmonton. On the other side, Jordan Binnington stopped 19 shots for the Blues.
For St. Louis (43-30-7), it was a tough night. After a hot 12-game winning streak, they’ve now dropped two straight. Pavel Buchnevich had a solid showing with a goal and two assists. Ryan Suter and Jordan Kyrou also found the back of the net for the Blues, who are still in the race to secure their own playoff ticket.
One of the standout moments came late in the game. After Darnell Nurse made a critical diving stick check to stop a breakaway, McDavid scooped up the puck, circled behind the Blues’ net, and sent a slick backhand pass to Brown. With just 21 seconds left, Brown buried the puck for his second goal of the night — and the eventual game-winner.
Robert Thomas kept his hot streak going for St. Louis, notching two assists and extending his point streak to 10 games. In that span, he’s put up four goals and 18 assists, with seven multi-point performances. Since the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, Thomas has been the NHL’s top scorer with 37 points in 24 games, just edging out Nikita Kucherov.
Arvidsson’s recent form is also encouraging for Edmonton. After scoring only 10 goals in his first 57 games, he now has four in his last six outings — a promising trend with playoffs around the corner.
The Oilers will look to keep the momentum going when they host the San Jose Sharks on Friday. Meanwhile, the Blues will get a short break before they head to Seattle for a matchup against the Kraken on Saturday.
