GDT #51: Blues @ Canadiens | 1:00 pm CT | BSMW, 101 ESPN

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BLUES The St. Louis Blues came back from the All-Star Break ready to play, visiting Buffalo on Saturday for a 3-1 win in their first game since Jan. 30.

Jake Neighbours' fifth power-play goal of the season gave the Blues the first lead, Joran Kyrou's 15th goal of the year followed it up and another Neighbours goal put the game away.

"It was good, we had a lot of fun" said Joel Hofer after his 34-save effort. "We were obviously focused in for this game, we knew it was a big one and we're just happy to get two points."

The win was an important one for the Blues to get, as their five-game win streak prior to the Break was snapped with a disappointing 1-0 shutout by the Blue Jackets. Rebounding for a road win keeps the Blues in their Western Conference Wild Card spot.

They turn around quickly for a back-to-back finale in Montreal, facing the young Canadiens who also played on Saturday afternoon. The Eastern Conference road trip finishes in Toronto on Tuesday before a four-game homestand begins against the Oilers.

The Blues visit the Canadiens with a record of 27-21-2, worth 56 points and fourth in the Central Division.

CANADIENS The Montreal Canadiens also began a back-to-back set on Saturday, though they returned from their All-Star Break earlier in the week with a win over Washington. Nick Suzuki scored two goals about a minute apart in the first period to lead the way to a 5-2 victory.

While the Blues were facing the Sabres on Saturday afternoon, the Canadiens had their own afternoon game at home against the Dallas Stars.

Despite being outshot 38-20, the Canadiens were able to keep pace with the Stars for most of the matchup, though ultimately fell 3-2. Suzuki and 2022 No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky scored for Montreal, and all five of the game's goals came in the second period.

Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Mike Matheson lead the Canadiens in scoring this season, though they will have to weather the departure of Sean Monahan. On Feb. 2, the Canadiens traded Monahan - who had recorded 35 points in 49 games with Montreal - to the Winnipeg Jets for multiple draft picks.

Sunday afternoon's matchup with the Blues is Montreal's second of three straight home games before a one-game trip to Madison Square Garden next week.

The Canadiens host the Blues with a record of 21-22-8, worth 50 points and sixth in the Atlantic Division.

HEAD TO HEAD The Blues beat the Canadiens 6-3 at Enterprise Center earlier this year behind three-point games from Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou. Going back to Jan. 16, 2016, the Blues are 8-5-1 in their last 14 games against the Canadiens but are 2-3-1 in their last six trips to Montreal.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Jake Neighbours, who tallied a pair of goals in Buffalo on Saturday. Neighbours' power-play goal was his fifth of the season and his second goal gives him a share of the team lead with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.

CANADIENS Nick Suzuki, leading the Canadiens with 31 assists and 47 points this season. Suzuki, who suited up with Robert Thomas on Team McDavid at the All-Star Game, scored a late goal in the Canadiens' 6-3 loss in St. Louis earlier this year.

BLUE NOTES
The Blues are 3-3-0 this season in the second game of a back-to-back, a slightly better point percentage than their 6-7-1 record last season

The Blues went 8-4-1 in the month of January, which shared the eighth most wins in the NHL during the month

Jake Neighbours scored his 16th and 17th goals on Saturday at Buffalo, his fifth career multi-point game (fourth this season).

Neighbours has seven points in his last 12 games (five goals, 2 assists)