BLUES The rough start to the St. Louis Blues' road trip continued on Saturday, falling 5-1 to the Los Angeles Kings for an 0-2-0 start to the West Coast slate. A 4-0 deficit in the first period extended to 5-0 late in the second, which proved too much to overcome in enemy territory.
"(The game) just kind of snowballed," said Robert Thomas. "They scored one, they scored two, we were down in a pretty big hole. Good response in the second and third (periods), but we just can't start like that."
After averaging four goals per game in the first seven games of November, the Blues' offense has gone cold to start this trip. They have maintained strong shot volume though, putting up a season-high 45 shots on goal in San Jose and an above-average 30 in LA.
The Blues will look to put the last two games behind them quickly, resetting for their second game in less than 24 hours' time when they visit the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Two days off await them afterwards, after which they will conclude the trip at Arizona's Mullett Arena.
They'll visit the Ducks with a record of 8-7-1, worth 17 points and fifth in the Central Division.
DUCKS After a five-year playoff drought, the Anaheim Ducks are seeking to turn a corner in their rebuild process and are off to a promising, though inconsistent start to the season.
Starting the year 1-4-0, the Ducks went on a six-game win streak from Oct. 24 to Nov. 5 that featured impressive wins over Boston and Vegas.
Frank Vatrano is Anaheim's early point leader, currently at a point-per-game pace well ahead of his career average.
The Ducks are coming off of two straight losses, the most recent coming against the Florida Panthers in which a controversial no-goal call against Anaheim made a major difference. Jakob Silfverberg thought he tied the score on a wraparound halfway through the third period, but a video review determined that the puck did not cross the goal line and the Ducks' comeback efforts came up short.
The Ducks continue a four-game homestand after hosting the Blues on Sunday, facing Montreal and Los Angeles at Honda Center this week.
They'll face the Blues with a record of 9-8-0, worth 18 points and fourth in the Pacific Division before Saturday's games.
HEAD TO HEAD The Blues went 3-0-0 against Anaheim last season, outscoring the Ducks 15-6 in those three games. The season series continues on March 17 in St. Louis and April 7 back in Anaheim.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Sammy Blais, who set up Jake Neighbours' goal on Saturday for his fifth point of the season. Since coming back to the Blues at the 2023 Trade Deadline, Blais has 25 points in 47 games.
DUCKS Leo Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft making a strong impact early in his career. Carlsson's six goals this season share second among NHL rookies, including his first career hat trick on Nov. 10 vs. Philadelphia.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues have won four straight games against Anaheim and have earned points in five straight (4-0-1). They have scored at least three goals in each of the last last four matchups, including three six-goal performances
The Blues are 1-1-0 in games played on the second night of a back-to-back set this season. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, the Blues are 13-10-4 in back-to-back finales including an NHL-best 3.67 goals per game average
Brayden Schenn's next point will be No. 600 of his career, scoring 351 of his 599 career points since coming to St. Louis in 2017
The Blues' next four games all come against Western Conference opponents, next seeing an East foe on Nov. 30 vs. Buffalo
The Anaheim Ducks will seek a faster start on Sunday night when they continue their four-game homestand against the St. Louis Blues.
The Ducks struggled through the first two periods during their 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday. They nearly tied the game with 8:49 remaining on Jakob Silfverberg's apparent wraparound goal, but the tally was nullified following a video review.
"We weren't very good, let's be honest. The first couple periods, we were lucky it was only 2-0," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said after the loss. "We waited until the third period. ... We played with some urgency. It was too little, too late.
"If our penalty killing hadn't been so good, it wouldn't have gotten to the controversial ending."
The Ducks lost 8-2 Wednesday in their previous game, at Colorado, so Cronin was pleased to see the response -- albeit late -- against the Panthers.
"This team's funny, like we go in spurts," Cronin said. "There's a fearlessness and a drive to our game when we have that in our minds, and you saw that in the third period."
Anaheim's best scoring chances in the first two periods came on shorthanded breakaways by Adam Henrique. Then the Ducks generated considerable 5-on-5 pressure in the final 20 minutes.
"It felt like the ice was shifting our way in the third," Silfverberg said. "We kept having scoring chance after scoring chance."
Overall the Ducks have lost four of their last six games after reeling off six victories in a row. Frank Vatrano, who scored his team-high 12th goal against Florida, has three goals and two assists in his last four games.
The Blues, who will face the Ducks for the first time this season, will play their third contest in a four-game trip.
St. Louis saw its three-game winning streak end with a 5-1 setback at San Jose on Thursday night. The Blues also dropped a 5-1 decision at Los Angeles on Saturday.
The Blues entered that game just 3-for-43 on their power play this season. They went 0-for-3 against the Kings and allowed a shorthanded goal despite making several recent adjustments with the man advantage.
"It's a downhill power play, so either you're going downhill with some speed and you're shooting pucks, or you're making plays into the net area with numbers at the net," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "We should all be going downhill together."
The Blues started Jordan Binnington in goal against the Kings, so they likely will come back with Joel Hofer (3-2-0, 3.20 goals-against average, .902 save percentage) against the Ducks.
St. Louis made a lineup change against Los Angeles, replacing Marco Scandella on the third defensive pairing with Robert Bortuzzo.
"Back-to-back, and I want to keep guys going," Berube said. "'Borts' hasn't been in for a bit. They've got a good power play; he's a good penalty killer."
