ST. LOUIS BLUES VS EDMONTON OILERS 11/6/2019

A showdown for the top spot in the Western Conference is on tap for Wednesday. On one side: the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. On the other side: the host Edmonton Oilers.

As the saying goes: To be the best, you must beat the best.

"We're off to a good start, everybody is feeling good, but these are the games, against some top contenders, that are really important for us," Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom told Postmedia on Tuesday. "It will give us a lot of confidence to know that we can play some hockey with those really good teams.

"Against the good teams we've been playing some solid hockey. We stayed with Washington and came out with two points. This is going to be another big test for us, and I'm really excited."

The Oilers, who dropped a 3-2 overtime game to the Arizona Coyotes on Monday, have missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons, and have reached the second season only once in the last 13 campaigns, so their position atop the Pacific Division standings is one of the league's early-season surprises.

One game against the Blues in early November won't decide fully whether the Oilers make the playoffs, but they know this is an opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the hockey world that their success is real.

"There is always an aura that goes with the champion," Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said. "I'm sure if you ask St. Louis, they're seeing that every night (from their opponents). They have a good deep team; they play a certain way every night, and that's how I expect them to play on Wednesday.

"It will be a good challenge. When they win the Cup, they have a confidence that they've done it, and they bring that confidence to their game, so if you don't play well against that, you're going to be behind."

The Blues certainly aren't dealing with any form of the Stanley Cup hangover. They arrive in Edmonton after claiming a 2-1 overtime win in Vancouver on Tuesday. St. Louis is riding a five-game winning streak and has been victorious in seven of the past eight outings.

"It's a grind out there," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "We're playing good teams, and teams are battling. It's tight hockey, and right now we're in tight games, all the games we're playing, and finding ways to win."

The Blues are especially finding their way when games go beyond 60 minutes. During their winning streak, they have earned four overtime victories, including OT wins in each of the last three contests.

Making it all the more impressive is that St. Louis has been without sniper Vladimir Tarasenko, who has missed the past six games due to a shoulder injury that is expected to sideline him for five months.

"It's fun. It's exciting when you win in overtime," Blues forward Tyler Bozak said. "The boys get along well in here and have meshed together. I think last year helped us in moments like that, to not panic, stick with it and play our game. That's what we've done, and luckily we've been on the winning end of them.