TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues saw their losing streak extend to four games on Thursday night, falling in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks.
Up 2-0 early in the third period, the Canucks scored twice - including one with 28 seconds left in regulation - to force overtime at Enterprise Center. Continuing the dramatic finish, Elias Pettersson raced up the ice to score the overtime winner with just 15 seconds left in the extra period.
"You need to show something," said a frustrated Alexey Toropchenko. "You need to show heart, character and be strong everywhere - just play from your heart."
Toropchenko blocked four shots and scored the first shorthanded goal of his career to get the Blues started on Thursday. Tyler Tucker followed it up with his own career milestone - his first NHL goal.
The Blues will look to rebound from the tough stretch when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins - also going through some adversity - in a Saturday afternoon matchup.
They'll face Sidney Crosby and the Penguins with a record of 26-28-4, worth 56 points and sixth in the Central Division
PENGUINS Fighting to extend their active 16-year Stanley Cup Playoff streak, the Pittsburgh Penguins are on the outside looking in entering Saturday's matchup in St. Louis.
A 7-2 loss to Edmonton on Thursday - coupled with a Detroit Red Wings win - placed the Penguins one point out of the second Wild Card spot in the competitive Eastern Conference.
Kris Letang scored both of Pittsburgh's goals in the tough loss, driven by Connor McDavid's four points as his dominant season continues. In his 17th season as a Penguin, Letang has seven goals and 18 assists in 39 games this year.
With Pittsburgh's 'Big Three' - Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby - all healthy and fighting to extend the Penguins' postseason streak, they'll head to St. Louis on Saturday afternoon looking to avenge the loss and snap their own four-game losing streak. The three multi-time Stanley Cup winners have combined for 152 points in their 17th season together.
The Penguins will face the Blues with a record of 27-21-9, worth 63 points and fifth place in the Metropolitan Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues fell 6-2 in Pittsburgh earlier this year, seeing two points from Colton Parayko and a hat trick from Pittsburgh's Kasperi Kapanen. The Blues have earned points in back-to-back home games with the Penguins, falling in overtime last year.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Brandon Saad, Pittsburgh native and recently returned to the lineup after four games out with injury. Saad has 17 points in 19 career games against the Penguins, including one assist as a Blue last season.
PENGUINS Rickard Rakell, acquired by the Penguins at last year's Trade Deadline. Rakell has seven points in his last five games, currently at 40 points on the season.
BLUE NOTES
Jordan Binnington's next start will move him into sole possession of No. 5 on the Blues all-time leaderboard for games by a goaltender... The Blues currently have three first-round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, which would be their first time with three picks in the first round since 2007... Since Dec. 11, the Blues are 73-for-87 (83.9 percent) on the penalty kill - No. 7 in the NHL in that span.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Blues will carry four-game losing streaks and mounting frustration into their matchup on Saturday in St. Louis.
The Penguins are coming off a dispiriting 7-2 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. The Blues will host the Penguins after squandering a 2-0 lead in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the visiting Vancouver Canucks.
The Penguins have been outscored 21-10 during their four-game downturn. The Blues have been outscored 18-6 during their four-game skid (0-3-1).
"It's frustrating right now," said Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who scored his team's two goals on Thursday. "We're not playing the way we were supposed to play. We get discouraged pretty quick. We have to bring more emotion and find a way, whatever it is.
"We'll have to find a way to win. It's the little details. We should not look to win the game by a big score or try to outscore teams. We should just win by playing a simple game and defend hard. We have so much skill up front that we'll find a way to score goals."
While Eastern Conference rivals Toronto, Boston and the New York Rangers and Islanders have added talent ahead of the trade deadline, the Penguins have stood pat.
"Well, our roster is our roster," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "So, we have what we have, and we're trying to put the best combinations on the ice that we think gives us the best chance to win. That's the criteria that I've always utilized for our coaching staff. We ask that question every day. We drill down the details, and then we put forward the lineup on the ice that we think gives us the best chance to win."
The Blues have been selling off talent ahead of the trade deadline.
"A lot of our best players are not doing the job," Blues coach Craig Berube said after Thursday's loss. "I don't know; you have to ask them. I guess they don't care about the team. I don't know. Not sure why."
Rookie forward Alexey Toropchenko has been one of the team's bright spots. He has played hard in his checking role and scored a shorthanded goal against the Canucks.
But many teammates have lagged behind after the trades that sent winger Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola to the Rangers and captain Ryan O'Reilly and forward Noel Acciari to the Maple Leafs.
"I don't know what's going on, but especially for fans, you cannot play like that," Toropchenko said. "You need to play for fans, for yourself, for everybody from the team. The team is just one family. It's not only about one guy. You need to be a part of it, and to show some respect to each other.
"You're not playing somewhere else in a beer league or something like that. You need to show something. You need to show heart, character and to be strong everywhere."
The Blues got injured forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad back against the Canucks, but defenseman Torey Krug returned to the shelf with a lower-body injury.
The Penguins won the previous game between these team 6-2 on Dec. 1. Kasperi Kapanen notched a hat trick for Pittsburgh but has scored just twice since then.
