TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues continue to look strong coming out of the All-Star break after winning their third game in a row on Thursday night. One game remains on the four-game homestand.
Getting out in front first, the Blues traded blows with the New Jersey Devils - the No. 1 road team in the NHL - until pulling away in the third period to seal the win. With Jack Hughes missing the game due to injury, the Blues were able to keep the other New Jersey stars - Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton - all scoreless in the 4-2 victory.
Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou continued their strong homestand, each adding their fifth and sixth points since the break while playing on a line together with Robert Thomas.
"As a team, I think we're doing a lot of good things in the offensive zone," said Kyrou. "We're forechecking, we're being super aggressive and it gives us more o-zone time with the puck."
The Blues will look to make it a perfect homestand on Saturday afternoon, hosting the Colorado Avalanche before a two-game trip to Ottawa (completing a back-to-back set) and Carolina.
The team will be without captain Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari - both were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night in a deal that brought three draft picks - including a first-rounder - and two prospects to the Blues.
They'll face the Avs with a record of 26-25-3, back above .500 and worth 55 points for sixth in the Central Division. The Blues now trail Nashville by just one point the standings and were six points out of a playoff spot as of Friday afternoon.
AVALANCHE The Colorado Avalanche have been eyeing a move up the standings in their Stanley Cup Championship defense this season. They have seen 36 different skaters play at least one game for them, the highest figure in the NHL as they battle a number of injuries. Most recently, Cale Makar has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury.
The Avalanche battled Tampa Bay twice in the last week, falling 5-0 on the road and 4-3 in a shootout at home - giving up the season sweep to their 2022 Finals opponents.
Bouncing back, Colorado earned a tight win over Minnesota on Thursday, holding on for a 3-2 win on the road. Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews led the way with two points each and Alexandar Georgiev made 41 saves to beat the Wild.
Georgiev's 22 wins this season already marks a career high by five and ranks No. 8 in the NHL, stepping up in Darcy Kuemper's departure last summer.
Saturday's bout in St. Louis marks the second of six games in a row against Western Conference opponents, continuing against Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vegas before hosting the Devils at the beginning of March.
The Avalanche will face the Blues with a record of 29-19-5, worth 63 points and third place in the Central Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues have an even 1-1-1 record against Colorado this season, with Saturday marking the season series finale. In their last 10 regular-season home games against Colorado, the Blues are 6-3-1.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Brayden Schenn, heating up to lead the team with three goals and six points since the All-Star break. Schenn has one goal against Colorado this season, coming in the Jan. 28 game at Ball Arena.
AVALANCHE Nathan MacKinnon, playing at a superstar pace since missing most of December with an upper-body injury. MacKinnon's 28 points since returning on Dec. 31 rank No. 2 in the NHL, including an assist against the Blues in their last matchup.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues will wear special Mardi Gras-themed warmup jerseys before Saturday's game... Of the Blues' nine games in February, five will have come against Eastern Conference opponents... The Blues have nine players with at least 10 goals this season, sharing third-most in the NHL... Since the All-Star break, Jordan Binnington is 3-0-0 with a 2.99 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. his three wins share the League lead with Detroit's Ville Husso... Colton Parayko's next goal will be No. 50 in his career, set to become the seventh defenseman in franchise history to reach the milestone.
While St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong continues to field trade offers for his players, his team is trying to maintain its game-to-game focus on winning.
That process will continue Saturday afternoon when the Blues host the Colorado Avalanche.
"Everybody understands every game is like elimination," St. Louis forward Alexey Toropchenko said. "We're just trying to focus on the next game. We need wins to make the playoffs because everyone wants to make the playoffs. We're just a hard-working team, physical, and we're doing what our coaches are saying to us."
The Blues have won their first three games following the All-Star break. They posted a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night with scouts and executives reportedly from 15 teams on hand to watch them play.
Armstrong hopes to rebuild around young forwards Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas. Veteran forward Brayden Schenn could provide leadership through the transition period ahead.
Currently those three players form the Blues' top line. That trio combined for two goals and four assists in the victory over New Jersey, and it has six goals and 11 assists in its last three games.
"Schenner's awesome," Kyrou said. "He can score, he can make plays, he can crush guys."
Blues coach Craig Berube switched for a more aggressive team defensive scheme after the break, and the changes have paid off so far.
"For us just as a team, I think we're doing a lot of the good things in the offensive zone, forechecking," Kyrou said. "We're being super aggressive and it gives us more O-zone time with the pucks. I think that just makes us score more goals."
With Brandon Saad on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, the Blues recalled rookie winger Jake Neighbours from Springfield of the American Hockey League. Fellow forward Sammy Blais exited Thursday night's game after taking a big hit, but Berube did not expect him to miss time.
Colorado is coming off a 3-2 victory at Minnesota on Wednesday. Prior to that, the Avalanche lost three of four games coming out of the break.
"We know the standings and we know the (Wild are) close to us," Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev said. "We knew it was three points for us, and kind of every game now for us now is playoff intensity. We know we have to get points and get higher up in the standings for sure."
Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon has produced three straight multi-point performances, totaling four goals and three assists in that stretch.
"I feel like he's picking up his game here recently," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said on Wednesday. "The bigger the moment, the better he plays. Last night, the night before, I thought he was great. And then tonight, he kind of led the charge for us, especially on the offensive side of it. Looked like he had good legs. He's making plays and getting dangerous on a bunch of occasions."
While the Avalanche are still missing Cale Makar due to a head injury, fellow defenseman Josh Manson returned from a lower-body injury that had sidelined him since Dec. 1.
Colorado has won two of the three previous meetings between the teams this season. Mikko Rantanen has recorded four goals and two assists in those games.
