BLUES The St. Louis Blues fell 5-2 in Columbus on Friday night to begin their back-to-back set. They struggled to convert on their offensive chances against the young Blue Jackets, outshooting Columbus 43-22 with Robert Thomas lighting the lamp both times. Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli was credited with the game-winning goal, totaling four points in back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday.
"At this point, chances aren't good enough. We need goals," said Thomas. "We've had lots of chances, but we need to find a way to put them in. It's costing us games, so we need to score - that's the bottom line."
The Blues will have to shake off the disappointing loss quickly, traveling to see their rival Blackhawks and complete the back-to-back set. The Blues have yet to lose three straight games this year, hoping to keep up their resolve after losses to Vegas and Columbus this week.
The team said goodbye to a veteran presence just before Friday's game, sending defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to the New York Islanders for a seventh-round pick in next summer's NHL Draft. Bortuzzo, who had spent the last 10 seasons in St. Louis, will have a chance at increased playing time after suiting up just four times so far this season. Bortuzzo's departure makes Colton Parayko, climbing the franchise's all-time defenseman leaderboards this season, is the new longest-tenured Blue.
The Blues head back to United Center for the second time in seven games with a record of 13-12-1, worth 27 points and sixth in the Central Division.
BLACKHAWKS The Chicago Blackhawks are 2-4-0 since hosting the Blues at the start of the Blues Dads' Trip, beating the Kraken before a four-game losing streak. They were able to right the ship on Thursday night, however, defeating the Anaheim Ducks 1-0 as they opened a four-game homestand.
Philipp Kurashev scored his fifth goal of the season for the Blackhawks as veteran goaltender Petr Mrazek earned his 25th career shutout. Chicago, ranked No. 29 with 3.52 goals allowed per game this season, was happy to see their defense step up.
Connor Bedard remains the top story in Chicago, whose assist on Kurashev's goal put the 18-year-old rookie at 21 points this season. Bedard leads the Blackhawks in goals (11), assists (10) and points (21), also leading NHL rookies in goals and points.
Just after the 4-2 loss to the Blues on Nov. 26, the Blackhawks made one of the first trades of the season by acquiring forward Anthony Beauvillier from the Canucks in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Beauvillier had eight points in 22 games in Vancouver before the trade, fresh off a career-high 40 last season.
Chicago's homestand finishes up against Washington on Monday night, making Saturday's matchup with the Blues the first of a back-to-back.
The Blackhawks host the Blues with a record of 8-16-1, worth 17 points and eighth in the Central Division.
HEAD TO HEAD The Blues won 4-2 at United Center in their last matchup with the Blackhawks, starting Dads' Trip off on a positive note. The Blues are 11-1-2 in their last 14 games against the Blackhawks, hoping to keep up those results when the rivalry resumes on Dec. 23 in St. Louis.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Brayden Schenn, who recorded his eighth assist of the season on Robert Thomas' second goal on Friday night. Schenn has two goals and three asissts for five points in his last five games.
\\BLACKHAWKS * *Philipp Kurashev, who got the Blackhawks on the board for the game-winning goal against Anaheim. Kurashev trails only Bedard for the team lead in points, with five goals and nine assists on the season.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues have scored at least three goals in seven straight games against Chicago, outscoring the Blackhawks 29-14 in those seven games (6-1-0 record)
The Blues are 2-1-0 this season playing the second night of a back-to-back, the wins coming over Montreal and Anaheim
Jake Neighbours and Connor Bedard are the only two players in the NHL currently leading their teams (or sharing) in goals while under the age of 22
With the fewest points of any team in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks are looking to make small gains in any area of the game they can.
Following a 1-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, the homestanding Blackhawks await the arrival of the rival St. Louis Blues for a Saturday night matchup.
The Blackhawks entered the game against Anaheim mired in a four-game losing streak (0-3-1), and teams engaged in a low-scoring, tight-checking clash.
Chicago's power play proved to be the difference when Philipp Kurashev netted the lone goal at 9:21 of the second period.
Before that game, Chicago's power play had scored just eight times in 75 attempts (10.7 percent), which ranked 29th in the league.
Kurashev's tally on assists from Connor Bedard and Tyler Johnson marked the third time the unit scored in the past five games. It came after Anaheim's Tristan Luneau was whistled for a double-minor high-sticking infraction.
Chicago won when scoring fewer than four goals for the first time this season.
"It was a great game overall, especially the special teams and Petr (Mrazek, the Blackhawks goaltender)," said Kurashev, who has five goals, two on the power play. "I definitely think we're moving the puck way quicker. We're opening up lanes for the shots."
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson believes the team's power play is improving.
"The more we get confident on the power play, I think it allows us to play a better five-on-five game," said Richardson, whose team is 1-0-1 on a four-game homestand. "It'll let the whole game plan settle if we can do our jobs on the special teams."
Mrazek made 37 saves and posted his 25th career shutout. It was his first shutout since beating the Dallas Stars 1-0 on April 4, 2021, while backstopping the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Blues own a recent stranglehold in their rivalry with Chicago, going 11-1-1 since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign.
In Columbus in a battle of backup goalies Friday night, the Blue Jackets' Jet Greaves made 41 saves, outdueling St. Louis' Joel Hofer (17 saves) for his first career NHL win in a 5-2 victory.
Robert Thomas scored twice, but it was not enough to keep the Blues from losing for the third time in four games.
On Friday afternoon, the Blues sent fan favorite defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to the New York Islanders for a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft.
Across 424 career games with the 2019 Stanley Cup champions, Bortuzzo totaled 16 goals, 38 assists, 531 blocked shots and 781 hits while compiling a plus-46 rating.
Bortuzzo, 34, was acquired by St. Louis for defenseman Ian Cole in March 2015. Only 33 players logged more games in franchise history than he did, though he had appeared just four times this season and recorded no points.
St. Louis president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong said the decision to part ways was mutual.
"(Robert) really wanted to get back on the ice and wants to play again next year," Armstrong said on the Bally Sports broadcast. "Where we're at right now, we ... have (Tyler) Tucker and (Scott) Perunovich -- young players we have to see play."
