TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues saw their seven-game win streak come to an end on Wednesday as they faced a Buffalo Sabres team looking to reheat their offense.
Buffalo's Jeff Skinner scored 18 seconds in, making it difficult for the Blues to settle in and play their game.
The Blues have been dealing with some injuries and illnesses in recent days, seeing contributors like Colton Parayko, Vladimir Tarasenko and Brandon Saad in and out of the lineup this week.
Pavel Buchnevich kept up his fiery pace of play, scoring his fourth goal in as many games on Wednesday. After a slow stretch coming off of injury, Buchnevich has nine points in his last six games to share the team lead with Jordan Kyrou.
The Blues begin a back-to-back set on Friday against the defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning, continuing with their in-state rival Florida Panthers - the defending Presidents' Trophy winners.
They'll bring a 10-9-0 record to Amalie Arena in Tampa, worth 20 points and fourth place in the Central Division.
LIGHTNING The Tampa Bay Lightning saw a four-game win streak snap on Monday, falling 5-3 to the No. 1-ranked Boston Bruins.
Boston scored five unanswered goals after the Bolts got out to a 1-0 lead, but a late Tampa Bay rally came up just short of a full comeback.
Pat Maroon and Nick Paul each recorded two points for the Lightning, who are trying to make their way back to the top of the standings after multiple seasons as an Eastern Conference powerhouse.
"When you take too many penalties and you turn pucks over into their transition, eventually you're gonna get caught - and that's what happened." said Maroon, the St. Louis native and pivotal member of the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion squad.
The Lightning bring an 11-7-1 record when they host the Blues, worth 23 points and fourth place In the Atlantic Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues went 1-1-0 against Tampa Bay last season, including a thrilling shootout victory over the then-defending champions at Enterprise Center. The next matchup between the two is Jan. 14, when the Blues will honor and enshrine the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame class of 2023.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Vladimir Tarasenko, who returned to the lineup on Wednesday following a two-game absence due to illness. Tarasenko has 12 points in 14 career games against the Lightning.
LIGHTNING Nikita Kucherov, leading the Bolts in scoring in his ninth season with the club. The 29-year-old former Hart Trophy winner has 28 points in 19 games, with seven in his last five games.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues put together the longest winning streak in NHL history following an 8-game losing streak. In the four major North American sports leagues, a team has posted a win streak of 7 ore more games after losing 8 or more straight games just six times in NBA history and just 16 times in MLB history... Jordan Binnington's next win will be the 100th of his NHL career... Since Nov. 10, Pavel Buchnevich shares fourth in the NHL with 11 points... The Blues are 7-0-0 when leading after two periods.
With his club having a light week on its schedule, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper likely had time to stew a bit over a 5-3 loss to the NHL's top team, the Boston Bruins, on Monday night.
Fortunately for Cooper, he and his squad can return to their home rink Friday night and have post-Thanksgiving seconds when they host the St. Louis Blues.
Against the Bruins, who had opened the season 16-2 going into the game, Tampa Bay started fast on a Nicholas Paul goal, but the visitors matched it later in the first period. In the second, the Bruins scored three times and overwhelmed Cooper's team, which had won four straight games.
"Penalties, turnovers, a little bit of structure," Cooper said of his club's issues. "In the end, they weathered a little bit of our storm in the first period, and they get out of the period 1-1. Then they throw us their storm and it's 4-1.
"There's the difference in the game. ... That's why they're an elite team in the league: It doesn't go their way, they kept it together and stuck with it. When it didn't go our way, we didn't handle it that well."
In his postgame press conference, Cooper fielded the session's first question by being asked what it was like to be a part of Patrice Bergeron's 1,000th career point, which resulted in a Bruins mob celebration.
It was awkward question to ask of the losing coach, but Cooper was gracious in addressing the milestone and the play of the 19-year veteran captain of the Atlantic Division rival.
"I actually didn't want to see it tonight," Cooper said with a slight grin. "But if you're going to tell me we're going to lose the game, I'm glad I got to actually witness it live. I've coached against that guy for a lot of years, lot of battles and playoffs, and he's a helluva kid. I've gotten to know him over the years.
"You cheer for him and you marvel at all these years how he can still be an elite player."
Meanwhile, the Blues experienced something two nights later that was unusual lately: losing.
St. Louis had won seven straight games since their last loss, 5-1 in Philadelphia on Nov. 8, a defeat that dropped them five games under .500 at the time. But the Blues' winning streak ended in Buffalo, as they were overwhelmed 6-2 by the Sabres to start their three-game Eastern Conference road swing.
Buffalo's Jeff Skinner and Jack Quinn scored two goals each. Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich found the net for St. Louis.
In a hint of what could be a physical matchup in Tampa, Blues coach Craig Berube said his club failed to play its game in the four-goal blowout.
"We didn't check hard enough," said Berube. "They've got some real good skill over there, and they exposed us with it tonight, like beating our guys one on one. It happened too many times tonight."
St. Louis forward Brandon Saad (non-COVID illness) missed the matchup, but defenseman Torey Krug was back after a one-game absence and posted a minus-3.
The Blues and Lightning will complete their two matchups on Jan. 14 in St. Louis.
