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Oilers-Blues Preview

Dec 11, 2009 - 1:13 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Edmonton (14-13-4) at St. Louis (13-11-5), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Edmonton Oilers look to cap a six-game road trip with a season-high fifth straight victory Friday night when they take on the St. Louis Blues, who have dropped seven straight meetings in this series.

Edmonton (14-13-4) began this road trip Nov. 28 with a 7-3 loss at Vancouver. The Oilers haven't lost in four games in December, though, with Jeff Deslauriers posting a 1.68 goals-against average and winning two shootouts.

This is the first time the Oilers have won four straight on the road since Nov. 14-Dec. 8, 2005.

"I think the confidence is high with the guys and you know, when you're winning games, it makes for a fun atmosphere," center Shawn Horcoff said. "We have one more game left on the trip and we'd love to finish it off the right way."

Edmonton hasn't lost to St. Louis (13-11-5) since a 4-3 home defeat Dec. 7, 2007, and has won four consecutive visits to Scottrade Center. The games haven't been blowouts, though. The Oilers have needed to go past regulation for five of their seven straight victories over the Blues.

This will be the first time Deslauriers - filling in for the injured Nikolai Khabibulin (sore back) - will face the Blues. The goaltenders who have played for Edmonton during the streak against St. Louis - Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson - are no longer with the Oilers.

The Blues, who have lost three straight at home overall, scored five total goals in last season's four-game sweep by the Oilers.

Edmonton has won three straight games by 3-2 scores, including a victory at Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Zack Stortini had the go-ahead tally in the second period after assisting on defenseman Tom Gilbert's goal in the first.

"We're finding ways to win which is the big difference than in the beginning of the year," Gilbert said. "We're holding teams off."

It's unclear who will start in goal for St. Louis, but Ty Conklin stated an emphatic case Wednesday, making 42 saves against his former team in a 1-0 victory at Detroit.

Conklin has won his last three starts, while Chris Mason is 1-2-2 with a 3.38 GAA in his last four. Mason lost twice in shootouts to Edmonton last season. Conklin went 3-0 with a 1.67 GAA in three starts against the Oilers while with the Red Wings in 2008-09.

St. Louis killed off all six Detroit power plays Wednesday to continue an impressive stretch. The Blues have allowed five goals in their opponents' last 39 chances with the man advantage, and have not allowed any all season in 5-on-3 situations.

"Our penalty killing has been fantastic," Conklin said. "We get in lanes. Guys trust the goalies to make the first save and they clear the rebounds."

Brad Boyes scored in the first period Wednesday for St. Louis. Boyes has four goals in his last seven games, equaling his total from the season's first 22 contests.