TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues seem to have found some level ground recently, thanks in no small part to the play of Jordan Binnington and the overall defensive execution.
Monday's game against the defending champion Colorado Avalanche demonstrated this when the Blues stepped up to kill 1:44 of a 5-on-3 disadvantage - including time spent 6-on-3 when the Avalanche pulled their goaltender for one last push.
"It's definitely intense, that's for sure," said Colton Parayko, who was out on the ice for the home stretch with Ryan O'Reilly and Niko Mikkola. "(Binnington's) kept us in every single game this year, and now we're on the winning side of it. It's been a lot of fun to watch him - he's a true competitor."
Binnington was sensational Monday, saving 45 shots to earn the Blues their third straight win. Over the three-game streak, Binnington has stopped 106 of 113 total shots faced.
After showing they can return to form against two of the NHL's top teams, the Blues will have to keep their intensity up with a dense schedule through the rest of the month. The team heads to Chicago (continuing the first-ever Moms' Trip), then returns home for a three-game homestand against the Capitals and Ducks (twice).
They face the Blackhawks with a 6-8-0 record, worth 12 points and quickly closing in on the rest of the Central Division.
BLACKHAWKS The Chicago Blackhawks have been up and down this season, working to smoothly bridge the gap between contention and a rebuild. Just prior to the 2022 NHL Draft, the Blackhawks traded 24-year-old forward Alex DeBrincat - their No. 2 leading scorer last season - to Ottawa for multiple draft assets, though longtime Blackhawks Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews remain with the club.
This season, they are off to a 6-6-3 start under new Head Coach Luke Richardson and are working to establish an identity during a pivotal time for the six-time Stanley Cup Champions.
They are coming off a 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes - their third shutout loss this season.
Kane and Toews have been leading the scoring thus far, with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
"We're really committed to building that team chemistry and playing for each other," said Toews. "When you have that feeling, you get effort, you're gonna find different ways to score and produce."
They'll host the Blues with a 6-6-3 record, worth 15 points and fifth place in the Central Division as of Tuesday afternoon.
HEAD-TO-HEAD Last season, the Blues went a strong 3-0-1 against their division rivals, with the only loss coming via overtime in Chicago on Nov. 26. Wednesday will be the first of four battles between the Blues and Blackhawks, with the next coming on Dec. 29 in St. Louis.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Robert Thomas, who scored two points in each of the wins against San Jose and Colorado and has four in his last three games. Thomas' 11 points and eight assists share second on the Blues, and his 138 face-off wins (on a career-high 54.5 percent win rate) lead the team.
BLACKHAWKS Patrick Kane, who leads the Blackhawks with 12 points in his 16th year with the team. The 34-year-old three-time Cup winner also led the scoring last season, reaching 92 points in 78 games.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues have won their last two games against Chicago and have earned points in nine straight matchups (7-0-2)... The Blues scored a power-play goal in all four games against Chicago last season, going 4-for-10 overall on the power play (40 percent)... Binnington, who has 96 career wins in 173 games played, is just four wins shy of becoming the sixth goaltender in franchise history to reach 100 wins.
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has stopped 106 of 113 shots during the club's three-game winning streak, a sterling stretch he will aim to continue Wednesday as the team visits the Chicago Blackhawks.
While he also was the Blues' goaltender of record five times during the eight-game skid that preceded the team's current tear, Binnington has remained steady in his preparation and mindset -- and teammates notice.
"He's always been good -- right from the first game (of the season)," St. Louis forward Robert Thomas said. "Even when we weren't helping him too much. But the last three games especially, he's taken it to another level and that's given us a lot of confidence in front of him."
Thomas sparked the Blues' most recent victory Monday, contributing a goal and assist to a 3-2 win at Colorado that closed with St. Louis frantically staving off a 6-on-3 situation over the final minute.
Moments earlier, with the Avalanche skating with merely a 5-on-3 -- having not yet pulled their goalie -- Binnington denied Cale Makar on a shot from the left circle that was headed for a seemingly open net.
"It's unbelievable," Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. "He's made some incredible saves. He's kept us in every single game this year and now we're on the winning side of it. So it's been a lot of fun to watch him. He's a true competitor that just continues to build. He's always there to help us out."
Wednesday's game ends a stretch in which the Blues have played five of six on the road. Chicago, meanwhile, will close an abbreviated, two-game homestand that began Monday with a 3-0 loss to Carolina.
Carolina rookie Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves against Chicago to record his first NHL shutout. It marked the third time the Blackhawks were blanked this season.
"It's frustrating because I thought we played OK in the first (period), and we're getting used to a team that pressures like that," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "We haven't really had that lately. We have to get accustomed to that.
"We have 'D' playing more minutes now than maybe they're used to playing, and they're put under the gun even more against a good skating, strong team. I thought we weathered that storm pretty good in the first period and played OK."
Richardson's sentiments notwithstanding, Chicago trailed 2-0 after 20 minutes and struggled to mount an attack in falling for the seventh time in nine games.
Special teams made a difference, as the Blackhawks finished 0-for-4 on the power play.
Captain Jonathan Toews said Chicago needs to show more urgency while not getting frustrated when pucks don't go in the net.
"You can't force it," Toews said. "I think we're making good plays and getting chances, and we're just relaxing with the puck and playing hard without it and giving each other options and things just kind of develop, ... We've just got to stick with it. There's a lot of good there."
