BLUES After a rollercoaster game at Enterprise Center on Thursday night, the Blues were able to pull away from the visiting Buffalo Sabres for a 6-4 win. Jake Neighbours' first goal of the night - while his dad was live on Bally Sports - gave the Blues an early 3-0 lead, but the Sabres stormed back to tie the game midway through the second period.
Kevin Hayes and Brayden Schenn scored 24 seconds apart to quickly get the lead back, and Neighbours' second goal of the game all but decided it - though Buffalo's JJ Peterka scored one late with their goalie pulled.
The Blues got their work done efficiently in the win, scoring six goals on a season-low 20 shots on goal. It was just the fifth time in franchise history - and first time since January 2007 - that the Blues scored at least six goals on 20 or less shots.
Turning 22 years old in March and scoring his eighth and ninth goals of the year on Thursday, Neighbours now leads the Blues in goals as the team's youngest player.
The Blues look to build their consistency when they hit the road for a two-game trip, starting with their fourth matchup against the Arizona Coyotes already this season and finishing with their first look at the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights.
They'll head back to Mullett Arena for the second time in 10 days with a record of 12-9-1, worth 25 points and fourth in the Central Division
COYOTES The Arizona Coyotes have won three straight games since falling 6-5 to the Blues on Nov. 22, taking down each of the last three Stanley Cup Champions and hoping to make it four on Saturday night.
The hot streak began with a 2-0 win in Vegas despite being outshot by the Golden Knights 34-18. Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse scored for Arizona as Connor Ingram earned his second career shutout.
Another strong defensive effort and good performance by Ingram led the way to their next win, defeating Tampa Bay 3-1 at home on Tuesday. Ingram made 30 saves and recorded an assist as Michael Carcone's two goals led the Coyotes.
Thursday's win over the Avalanche was the most dramatic of the three, needing overtime to decide the outcome after Nathan MacKinnon tied the game in the third period. Nick Bjugstad's first career overtime goal gave Arizona the win.
With momentum in hand and just one point shy of the Blues in the divisional standings, the Coyotes' rematch with St. Louis is the third of what could be a significant five-game homestand. After Saturday's game, they will host Eastern Conference foes Washington and Philadelphia.
The Coyotes host the Blues with a record of 11-9-2, worth 24 points and fifth in the Central.
HEAD TO HEAD With three matchups under their belt already this year, the Blues lead 2-1-0 in the season series. The Blues are 5-3-0 in their last eight matchups with the Coyotes and 3-2-0 in their last five trips to the Grand Canyon State.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Colton Parayko, who will become the sixth defenseman in Blues history to play 600 games with the franchise on Saturday. Parayko scored his fourth goal of the season on Nov. 22 at Arizona, already matching his goal total from last year.
COYOTES Michael Carcone, whose three goals in their current win streak lead the Coyotes. Carcone's 10 goals this season shares the team lead, hoping to make this a breakout year after posting nine points in 30 games over the last two seasons.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues are 4-1-0 this season on games played on Saturdays
When scoring first, the Blues are 11-0-0 and the only team in the NHL without a loss of any kind
During the month of November, the Blues' 14 points and 53 goals both shared or ranked third in the League. Robert Thomas' 18 points on the month ranked 10th among all NHL skaters
Jake Neighbours' nine goals this season shares second in his 2020 NHL Draft class, only trailing Buffalo's JJ Peterka by a single goal
Dishing his 11th assist of the season on Thursday, Justin Faulk and the Blues are now 8-2-0 when he records a point
The Arizona Coyotes have defeated the last three teams to win the Stanley Cup while continuing their climb into contention in the Western Conference.
They will try to extend that streak when they host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.
The Coyotes defeated the 2022 champion Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night. That followed a 3-1 victory over the 2020 and 2021 champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday and a 2-0 defeat of the 2023 champion Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 25.
According to NHL.com, no team had defeated the previous three Cup winners consecutively since the Buffalo Sabres in December 1995.
Now the Coyotes get a shot at the Blues -- the 2019 champions.
"Our guys are really tuned in the way we played the past three games," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. "The urgency we've had, the focus level we've had has been unbelievable. ... I hope it will fuel our confidence."
Arizona's winning streak came on the heels of a three-game losing streak.
"I think we all kind of sat around knowing we had to be better, and obviously we were these last three games," Coyotes forward Nick Bjugstad said. "Finding ways to win, making those high-percentage plays, and I think that's really our focus."
Connor Ingram allowed just four goals while earning the last three victories. He lowered his goals-against average to 2.52 and raised his save percentage to .922.
The Coyotes, who finished 28-40-14 last season, improved to 11-9-2 to move firmly into the race for a playoff berth.
The Blues have won four of their last six games overall and they have won two of three games against the Coyotes this season. They prevailed 6-5 at Arizona on Nov. 22 in their most recent meeting.
St. Louis is coming off a 6-4 home victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Jake Neighbours continued his recent hot streak (seven goals, one assist in seven games) by scoring twice.
"Rollercoaster game," Neighbours said. "That's not how we want to play, obviously. We're happy that we got the two points, and we'll move on from it, but there's definitely areas that we can clean up. Just being harder, harder to play against, harder in our battles and stuff like that and just trying to piece together 60 minutes."
Goaltender Jordan Binnington made 42 saves to earn the victory, but the Blues know they need to give him more help.
"We were going out there and just shooting ourselves in the foot," said Blues captain Brayden Schenn, who had two goals and an assist. "Turned over pucks and not playing hard enough. Just not tonight, but in general in the second period.
"That's something we have to change. Can't be giving up 45 shots a night and relying on your goalies so much. Two points, we'll definitely take it. It's a tight league, but we've got lots to clean up here and start tilting the ice a little bit and start taking over games."
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