GDT #74: 3/24/15 | 6:00PM CST | @ Penguins | FSMW/KMOX

[dmiles2186]

BLUES (45-21-7) at PENGUINS (40-22-10)

TV: TVA, FS-MW, ROOT

Season series: Blake Comeau had three points, including two goals, to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 in St. Louis on Feb. 21. Vladimir Tarasenko had two assists for the Blues.

Blues team scope: St. Louis concludes a six-game road trip, its longest of the season, when it faces Pittsburgh. Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, who left the 6-3 loss at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday with an upper-body injury, did not skate Monday and is a game-time decision. Goalie Jake Allen, who made 23 saves in an overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, will start. The Blues are 2-1-2 on the trip, but have lost the past three after opening with shutout victories against the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames. The Blues penalty kill, which was as low as 23rd in the NHL at one point, was 10th entering play Monday and has killed off 40 of 43 penalties in the past 13 games. The Blues lead the Nashville Predators by one point for first in the Central Division.

Penguins team scope: Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford announced Monday that right wing Pascal Dupuis (blood clot) will miss the remainder of the regular season. Dupuis has been out since being diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung Nov. 19. Rutherford said Dupuis won't be cleared to play until June and that he's confident Dupuis will resume his career next season. Center Evgeni Malkin skated in a rare Sunday evening practice after the Penguins returned from a three-game road trip and ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Malkin, who's missed the past four games with an upper-body injury, is questionable. Right wing Patric Hornqvist, who has an undisclosed injury, skated on his own Sunday. He's listed as doubtful after missing the past three games. Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (undisclosed) is questionable after he was scratched Saturday.

The St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins hope their recent slumps - and injury problems - are simply minor setbacks before embarking on deep playoff runs in a few weeks.

St. Louis is looking to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat as it closes its longest trip of the season against Pittsburgh, which could have Evgeni Malkin back in the lineup.

The Blues (45-21-7) lead the Central Division by one point ahead of Nashville and are two back of Anaheim with a game in hand for the top spot in the Western Conference, but they've dropped their last three after beginning the six-game swing with a pair of wins.

Alexander Steen scored his 23rd goal in the second period Sunday against Detroit before Erik Cole's goal 24 seconds into the third tied it. Justin Abdelkader's controversial power-play tally with the same amount of time elapsed in overtime gave the Red Wings a 2-1 win. Abdelkader appeared to knock the puck in with a broken stick.

"We did a lot of good things with tired legs with back-to-back games," Blues captain David Backes said, referring to a 6-3 loss to Minnesota the previous night. "Maybe we took too many penalties."

Jake Allen made 23 saves after relieving Brian Elliott early in the second period Saturday. Coach Ken Hitchcock said Allen, who has never faced the Penguins, will get the nod in this contest.

"I just try to play the best when I get called upon and try to give the guys a chance," Allen said. "I enjoy it and I'm having some fun with it."

The Blues lost a season-worst four in a row Dec. 18-27 and may have to play this contest without defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, who sat out against Detroit after suffering an upper-body injury against Minnesota.

He's questionable against the Penguins (40-22-10), who have been without Malkin for the last four games due to an upper-body injury.

There's a possibility Malkin could return Tuesday, but forward Patric Hornqvist will miss a fourth straight game with an undisclosed injury. Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff aggravated his undisclosed issue in warmups Sunday and is questionable.

"It's not a major injury, but it was something that was nagging him," coach Mike Johnston said of Ehrhoff.

The Penguins were forced to play with five defensemen but received goals from Brandon Sutter, Daniel Winnik and Sidney Crosby in a 3-1 win over Arizona. Sutter's goal bounced off of him into the net on a failed clearing attempt by Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith.

Pittsburgh, which learned Monday that Pascal Dupuis has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs due to blood clots diagnosed in November, had been outscored 11-2 during a four-game skid.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves and is likely to be in net for the Penguins, who sit third in the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of Washington with one game in hand.

"Hopefully we can rally off this one and build off it," said Crosby, who earned his 50th assist on Winnik's goal and is among the league leaders with 74 points. "We finally got a bounce. We were due after all we've been through the last week or so."

Blake Comeau had two goals and an assist to help Pittsburgh wins 4-2 at St. Louis in the season's first meeting Feb. 21.

[gaijin]

Allen starting again? Is there something we should know about Elliott?

2 points, please. Pretty please?

[drwoland]

Blues 3
Pens 1

Tense game.

I don't read too much into Elliott/Allen. Remember, Elliott's had a relatively serious injury this year, and has still played very consistently. I think they're giving Elliott some rest down the stretch while allowing Allen to stay sharp since we may well need him in the playoffs.

[gaijin]

Blues 3
Pens 1

Tense game.

I don't read too much into Elliott/Allen. Remember, Elliott's had a relatively serious injury this year, and has still played very consistently. I think they're giving Elliott some rest down the stretch while allowing Allen to stay sharp since we may well need him in the playoffs.

And that makes sense. But I would think giving your #1 goalie some rest would mean more along the lines of starting every other game. Now Allen is starting two in a row after finishing the game against Minnesota when Ells got pulled.

[cprice12]

Allen has played very well lately...so it gives Elliott a chance to rest against a team from the East.
If we were playing a playoff team from the West, Elliott probably would be playing tonight.

[glen a richter]

I'm following the score on espn.com because they refresh faster than yahoo. So they list the last play as Ian Cole credited with hit on David Backes, I do a double take and then remembered that he was traded to Pittsburgh. Forget that little storyline. Watch he teams up with Perron on the game winner with 3 seconds left in the 3rd.

[Toasted Oates]

Blues had a couple good chances and outshot 'em but Crosby's line was tenacious that period. They sustained frightening pressure on seemingly every shift.

Despite that, though, Jake didn't have to do anything spectacular. Also, Bortuzzo looks damn solid (small sample size, I know).

I'm pretty curious how these pairings will shake out for the playoffs. Although I'm no Gunnar hater, I sorta prefer 41 in there. They'd have to double up with an all righty pairing when Shatty returns, so I dunno.

[WaukeeBlues]

Bortuzzo and Goc score... You can't make this crap up haha

[cardsfan04]

Bortuzzo and Goc score... You can't make this crap up haha

Yeah, that was kinda crazy. Game looked like it might get out of hand for a second. Then, two guys both acquired separately from the Penguins score their first goal each as members of the Blues to tie it up. That was pretty awesome.

Also, as Panger pointed out, Steen's shift in OT was pretty awesome.

[Misc. Blues]

First a good win by the good guys...

I watched the Pens feed and the commentators couldn't understand why the Blues didn't get any power-plays. Several times they would say one of our players were taken down or tripped and no call. Two or three times they said a Pens player played the puck with a high stick and again no call. How can it be so obvious to even the Home commentators but the refs never see it. It's getting ridiculous all the (non) calls that the Blues are not getting.

The best thing they said was Crosby has never scored against the Blues. Amen...

[cprice12]

First a good win by the good guys...

I watched the Pens feed and the commentators couldn't understand why the Blues didn't get any power-plays. Several times they would say one of our players were taken down or tripped and no call. Two or three times they said a Pens player played the puck with a high stick and again no call. How can it be so obvious to even the Home commentators but the refs never see it. It's getting ridiculous all the (non) calls that the Blues are not getting.

The best thing they said was Crosby has never scored against the Blues. Amen...

The reffing was horrible, in that the Pens got a few PP's and we didn't get any, when they could have given us a number of them, especially in the 3rd period.
I saw a couple high sticks that went uncalled, trips and hooks that were ignored.
Pretty unbalanced officiating...yet we overcame it and won.

This was a real fun game to watch. I guess any comeback win is...but this was a very well played game...especially on the road in Pittsburgh.

Perron was all over the place tonight. Allen flat out robbed him of a sure goal upper glove. Like Panger said it was Marty Brodeur-like. Great save.
Allen was money. Very, very good...made a number of solid saves.
Fleury was also very, very good. The Blues' first two goals were simply from being tenacious in the offensive zone, and they got the breaks.
Steen's winner was a thing of beauty. Steen should have gotten an assist on his own goal he was so good on that play.

Great game...a pretty big win seeing that Nashville won in OT and the Hawks won last night.

99 pts and 8 games to go. Up by one point on Nashville and up by 5 on Chicago, but the Hawks have two games in hand...so they'd have to win them both to get within a point.

I'm not really concerned about the President's trophy. With our schedule, it will be tough to get as the Rangers have 99 pts and two games in hand on us...so they'd have to falter a bit. Having home ice until the finals would be huge, and I wouldn't be upset at all about failing to win the President's Trophy.

[glen a richter]

After going down 2-0, I was trying to post some serious negativity about things going downhill fast, same old story, Allen going back to letting his head take over the game, but the site wouldn't let me post it. I tried about 5 or 6 times. By the time I gave up, it was 2-2. A sign from the supernatural? Or just a forum glitch?

[dmiles2186]

They mentioned in the post game, but Jake Allen has been phenomenal in his last 10 starts, most on the road. I think they referenced a 1.89 GAA (give or take) in those starts. Don't look now, but do we have a #1 swap on our hands soon?

Blues stuck with it and that was good to see. Steener was a freakin' beast on the winner. He brilliantly won a board battle against Lovejoy, makes a sensational tape to tape pass to Michalek at the right point, immediately cuts to the net, beating his man, getting his stick in perfect position for the deflections. Why did the Leafs give up on this guy 6 years ago?

I got yelled at in flashchat for expressing this, but is anyone else frustrated we haven't scored in the first period in 8 games? We've played pretty well in that stretch, but man, it'd be nice to start a game with a little pep in our step.

[glen a richter]

Let's not have a #1 swap now. This is an atrocious time to start sending the wrong message to Elliott. Dance with the one who brought you, not his backup. If Elliott fizzles in the playoffs you can go to Allen, but otherwise thanks but no thanks.

If you give up two goals in what, 13 seconds or something like that, in the playoffs, that will be seized upon and you'll soon be down three or four. Contenders find an extra gear when the stakes are real. Can this team finally do that?

[WaukeeBlues]

After going down 2-0, I was trying to post some serious negativity about things going downhill fast, same old story, Allen going back to letting his head take over the game, but the site wouldn't let me post it. I tried about 5 or 6 times. By the time I gave up, it was 2-2. A sign from the supernatural? Or just a forum glitch?

At least in the Red Wings game, the boys just looked tired. It was understandable given we had just played the night before and then had to travel and play a day game. That one was ugly with the lazy penalty calls we racked up.

Maybe just a hangover from that? That's my guess anyway. I can't speak to the prior 7 games why no goals in the first but at least for this one there appears to be a bit more of an excuse.

At least now the guys can get back to St. Louis, have three days off and there's no excuses in the world for a slow start against the BJ's on Saturday. The streak should end.

[not_a_wings_fan]

I have to keep reminding myself that this team is playing without a guy who was considered a serious contender for the Norris trophy.

I feel like our overall game improves with a full roster. The fact that we are still leading the West without him is pretty sweet.

Bring on the real season already!

[glen a richter]

I have to keep reminding myself that this team is playing without a guy who was considered a serious contender for the Norris trophy.

I feel like our overall game improves with a full roster. The fact that we are still leading the West without him is pretty sweet.

Bring on the real season already!

That's what I'm saying. Shatty has to be back soon, I mean he's skating and everything like normal now apparently. He could be back on Saturday. Remember what happened when Schwartz came back, and imagine similar when Shattenkirk comes back.

Of course we could arrive at game one/round one and Tarasenko suffers a broken leg in the 1st period or we find out Elliott's sister is getting married and he really really wants to make the ceremony. That would be par for the course, I suppose. Physically healthy and mentally present, this team can hang with anyone. We're not talking about a lousy roster that went wildfire after January just to get stuffed by Vancouver and we're not talking about a depleted roster that limped into the playoffs just to get stuffed by the Blackhawks and leave limping even more.

[cardsfan04]

They mentioned in the post game, but Jake Allen has been phenomenal in his last 10 starts, most on the road. I think they referenced a 1.89 GAA (give or take) in those starts. Don't look now, but do we have a #1 swap on our hands soon?

Blues stuck with it and that was good to see. Steener was a freakin' beast on the winner. He brilliantly won a board battle against Lovejoy, makes a sensational tape to tape pass to Michalek at the right point, immediately cuts to the net, beating his man, getting his stick in perfect position for the deflections. Why did the Leafs give up on this guy 6 years ago?

I got yelled at in flashchat for expressing this, but is anyone else frustrated we haven't scored in the first period in 8 games? We've played pretty well in that stretch, but man, it'd be nice to start a game with a little pep in our step.

I don't think now is the time to swap goalies. JR and Kevin Wheeler talked about this a little while ago. If you make Allen your number 1 and he falters in the playoffs, do you just give it back to Elliott like nothing ever happened? I'd stick with Elliott unless he gives them reason to make a change. Then Allen can take over next year if he continues playing well.

[The Flake]

They mentioned in the post game, but Jake Allen has been phenomenal in his last 10 starts, most on the road. I think they referenced a 1.89 GAA (give or take) in those starts. Don't look now, but do we have a #1 swap on our hands soon?

Blues stuck with it and that was good to see. Steener was a freakin' beast on the winner. He brilliantly won a board battle against Lovejoy, makes a sensational tape to tape pass to Michalek at the right point, immediately cuts to the net, beating his man, getting his stick in perfect position for the deflections. Why did the Leafs give up on this guy 6 years ago?

I got yelled at in flashchat for expressing this, but is anyone else frustrated we haven't scored in the first period in 8 games? We've played pretty well in that stretch, but man, it'd be nice to start a game with a little pep in our step.

I don't think now is the time to swap goalies. JR and Kevin Wheeler talked about this a little while ago. If you make Allen your number 1 and he falters in the playoffs, do you just give it back to Elliott like nothing ever happened? I'd stick with Elliott unless he gives them reason to make a change. Then Allen can take over next year if he continues playing well.

Elliott has had a really good year. I don't think you bench him come playoff time because of a couple of bad games. Everyone has bad games now and again. And just like anyone else, he will have his ups and downs. He'll show up and perform when it counts, he's got the tools...wait and see.

On the flip side, I've been pretty down on Allen this year and (just to prove me wrong lol) he has strung together some nice games recently. I'm still not sold on him being a #1 for a cup contender but he is an outstanding backup goalie.

[ecbm]

Allen starting again? Is there something we should know about Elliott?

I don't read too much into Elliott/Allen. Remember, Elliott's had a relatively serious injury this year, and has still played very consistently. I think they're giving Elliott some rest down the stretch while allowing Allen to stay sharp since we may well need him in the playoffs.

Jake Allen has been phenomenal in his last 10 starts, most on the road. I think they referenced a 1.89 GAA (give or take) in those starts. Don't look now, but do we have a #1 swap on our hands soon?

Actually, Elliott has struggled mightily with consistency lately. His sv% in his last six starts have been:

.750
1.000
.842
1.000
.971
.750

He's been largely boom or bust since his return-of the 28 starts since he's had 13 with sv% of .900 or below, 15 above that mark. Before that, he played 14 games and only clocked below .900 4 times despite playing only 4 teams not currently in playoff spots, one of which being the Kings. Not saying they should switch, and I don't think they are, but I do think the season may be wearing on him more than usual due to the injury or maybe he's still getting back to fully 100%. I hope he gets it together soon. Allen's age and recent record tells me he will have a bit of mental weakness at some point in the near future and results to match.