Blues thump Oilers

In St Louis, the Blues struck a grace note in their 7-2 thrashing of the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.

The Blues built a 4-0 lead in the second period before the Oilers struck for two.

But the Blues responded with three more goals to bury the Oilers.

Jaden Schwartz had a hat trick in Blues win – file photo by Lewis Bleiman

Jaden Schwartz picked up a hat trick kn the win and David Perron added two strikes for the Blues who improved to 38-27-8.

“It’s a nice feeling,” Schwartz said. “Maybe you grip the stick a little bit less when you see a couple going in and see a little bit more of the net. Obviously the linemates and the other players made great plays on those goals and some nights they just seem to find a way and others they don’t.”

St Louis is just two points clear of the Dallas Stars who trail them in the race for third in the Central. Division; the Nashville Predators are five points up on the Blues in the second position in the division.

“This is the situation we were in last year, gave me that opportunity, and I’m glad that I can do this again this year,” Perron said. “I’m trying to be sharp every puck touch. I need to keep doing that whether it’s practice or in a game as we keep going, and obviously in playoffs, power plays are huge.”

Jordan Binnington made 15 saves to get the win.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian scored for the Oilers.

“We’re running on fumes,” Edmonton coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We need to get home and see if we can get some rest and get playing. We’re banged up and there’s not much left of us. We just need to regroup and get ready for the homestand. It’s a tough loss.”

Alex Pietrangelo and Pat Maroon added single markers for the Blues.

[WATCH: All Oilers vs. Blues highlights]

Mikko Koskinen got the start for the Oilers and was given the hook after yielding three goals; he got the hook in the middle frame.

“We spent a lot of energy coming back,” Hitchcock said. “The fifth goal was the killer for us. Against a good team like that, you can’t take a penalty 200 feet from your net. We couldn’t get it killed. We couldn’t get the face-off won.”

Anthony Stolarz relieved Koskinen and made 20 saves.