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TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues got a quick road trip in to kick off this weekend's back-to-back set, winning 5-2 in Columbus on Saturday.
Sammy Blais got the Blues going first, tallying three points in the first period alone playing on a line with Brayden Schenn and Brandon Saad. The point total matched his career high, also reached on April 9, 2021 before he went to the Rangers.
Jordan Kyrou kept up the momentum, sealing the win with his second career hat trick. Kyrou's second goal of the night also brought him to a career-high 28 on the season, now one shy of the first 30-goal campaign of his career.
"I think we played a pretty well-rounded game today," said Kyrou. "We just want to continue to keep doing that as we keep building our foundation."
The Blues conclude the back-to-back against Vegas, which will include a familiar face in Ivan Barbashev making his return to Enterprise Center.
They'll host the Golden Knights with a record of 29-31-5, worth 63 points in the Central Division.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS In their pursuit of the Pacific Division title, the Vegas Golden Knights had a busy Trade Deadline.
In addition to acquiring Barbashev from the Blues, the Golden Knights added veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick and depth piece Teddy Blueger.
Quick has three starts with his new Pacific Division team under his belt, winning all three with a 33-save shutout on Saturday - the 58th of his career. Barbashev has five points in six games as a Golden Knight, including his first two-goal performance of the season vs. Montreal.
Vegas will also be playing their second night of a back-to-backs, winning 4-0 in Carolina thanks to Quick's shutout and two assists from Alex Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo is up to 38 points this season and is hoping to pass his best as a Golden Knight of 44 from last year.
They'll visit the Blues with a record of 40-20-6, worth 86 points and first place in a tight Pacific Division - also owning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues are 1-0-1 against the Golden Knights this year, winning 3-2 on Nov. 12 and falling in a shootout on Dec. 23. With Sunday's game completing the season series, the Blues are 6-3-1 at home against Vegas in the matchup's young history.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Jordan Kyrou, whose second career hat trick paved the way for Saturday's win. Kyrou leads the Blues with 60 points this season, including six in his last five games.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS Ivan Barbashev, playing his first game as an opponent after over six seasons in St. Louis. Including a pivotal role on the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion squad, Barbashev recorded 178 points in 410 games as a Blue.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues are 6-4-0 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season, sharing the fifth most wins in the NHL this season... Blues prospect Zachary Bolduc crossed the 100-point threshold for his junior team this week to rank No. 2 in the QMHJL, with 44 goals and 56 assists in 56 games this season... The Blues are 23-9-2 this season when scoring first... Jordan Binnington's 50 starts this season rank No. 1 in the NHL. If Binnington starts Sunday's game, he will surpass his career high mark set in 2019-20... Pavel Buchnevich extended his point streak to eight games with an assist in Columbus, the second longest active streak in the NHL.
The Vegas Golden Knights have overcome a slew of goaltending injuries to remain atop the Pacific Division.
They will try to continue that trend Sunday when they visit the St. Louis Blues.
No. 1 Vegas goaltender Robin Lehner is out this season while recovering from hip surgery. Logan Thompson, Laurent Brossoit and Adin Hill are sidelined with lower-body injuries.
The Golden Knights acquired veteran Jonathan Quick this month to fill in for the injured goalies, and they recalled Jiri Patera their AHL team in Henderson for their ongoing five-game trip.
Quick bounced quickly from the Los Angeles Kings to the Columbus Blue Jackets, then to the Golden Knights before the NHL trade deadline.
He earned a 33-save shutout as Vegas blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday.
"Just grateful for the opportunity they're giving me here," Quick told AT&T Sportsnet after the game. "Just trying to help these guys win some games."
Quick is 3-0-0 with a .939 save percentage in his first three starts for the Golden Knights.
"They compete, they find ways to win," he said. "It's a fun team to play on."
Patera became the sixth goaltender to dress for Vegas this season and could become the fifth to start if he gets the call Sunday.
The Golden Knights will catch the Blues in the early stages of a major retooling. Blues coach Craig Berube continues to experiment with his forward lines and defensive pairings.
He has gained positive results by putting young power forward Alexey Toropchenko with playmaking center Robert Thomas and speedy winger Jordan Kyrou on a new No. 1 line.
Kyrou scored a hat trick Saturday, Thomas had two assists, and Toropchenko had one helper as the Blues earned a 5-2 road victory over the Blue Jackets. Kyrou put five shots on goal was a constant threat.
"He attacked and shot the puck," Berube said. "He could have had more than that, probably, with some of the chances he had. He's a dangerous player. When he's skating and he's on his toes and attacking, a lot of good things (happen)."
The Blues also have received better play recently from defenseman Colton Parayko, who was minus-21 during the first four months of the season but plus-6 since then despite the team's overall struggles.
"I think it's just natural when sometimes things don't go right, you obviously overthink things," Parayko said. "Hockey's a funny game, it happens fast. Sometimes, the more that you overthink, sometimes the things tend to get worse. You're wondering why when you're trying to solve the problem, you're trying to figure out."
Thomas Greiss started for the Blues on Saturday, so Berube is likely to come back with Jordan Binnington against Vegas.
The Golden Knights and Blues split their first two games this season. The Blues won 3-2 on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas, with Brandon Saad and the since-departed Ryan O'Reilly and Ivan Barbashev scoring the goals.
Vegas won the second meeting 5-4 at home on Dec. 23, with Chandler Stephenson enjoying a four-point game (goal, three assists) and Michael Amadio adding a goal and two assists.
