GDT #65: Blues @ Bruins | 6:00 pm CT | BSMW, 101 ESPN

[theohall]

BLUES The St. Louis Blues will be happy to get out of the Tri-State area as their five-game road trip ends in Boston. After winning in Philadelphia, the Blues have lost three games in a row to the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, respectively.

On Saturday night, the Blues took a 4-0 loss in Madison Square Garden. It was the third time they've been blanked this season. Between six penalties, being outshot 39-26 or not scoring once on Igor Shesterkin, the Blues didn't have many positives to take with them from the Big Apple.

"If you're losing, you at least want to go down swinging," Blues Captain Brayden Schenn said after the game. "Right now, we're just not generating enough offensively."

The Blues have struggled to get anything at 5-on-5 play. They have only 112 even-strength goals this season, which is tied for the fourth-fewest in the NHL - only the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks have fewer.

"We'll keep on working on it," Schenn said. "This group's definitely not going to quit, and there's still a lot of hockey left. We've just got to find a way to turn up the confidence in this room."

The Blues (32-29-3) are falling out of the Wild Card race in the Western Conference, trailing the Vegas Golden Knights - who hold the final spot - by eight points. They have a ways to go if they want to climb back into playoff contention, but it's not out of the question.

The Blues finally return from the road trip on Wednesday, coming back to Enterprise Center to host the Los Angeles Kings.

BRUINS After a brief skid, the Boston Bruins are rolling once again.

From Feb. 22 to March 2, the Bruins had lost four of five games, but they're rebounding nicely. In the four games since, Boston is 3-0-1. They've beat the Toronto Maple Leafs twice, and on Saturday, they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 5-1 win.

"We've been consistent the last few games," Bruins captain Brad Marchand said after the game. "There's a way we need to play to have success, and we did that the last four nights. We gave ourselves an opportunity because we played the right way."

The Penguins outshot the Bruins 39-23, but Boston dominated thanks in part to a 38-save performance from Linus Ullmark. With the tandem of Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, the Bruins have the fourth-lowest goals against average in the NHL (2.67).

"[Ullmark] was our best player," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "It wasn't close. He was really good."

Boston is making an all-in push for the Stanley Cup, and they made two moves at the Trade Deadline to gear up for the playoffs. Boston added both Andrew Peeke and former Blues forward Pat Maroon to bolster their roster. Maroon is a three-time champion winning with St. Louis in 2019 and twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

"We added two tough pieces and two great guys in the (locker) room," Marchand said. "I've heard so many great things about both of them. They play a playoff-type game. Very excited to have them."

The Bruins (38-13-15) are just one point behind the Florida Panthers for the top of the Eastern Conference. After hosting the Blues, Boston gets two days of rest before heading to Montreal on Thursday.

HEAD TO HEAD This is the second and final matchup between the Blues and Bruins this season. The Bruins won the only other matchup 4-3 in overtime on Jan. 13. The Blues are 3-4-0 in their last seven visits to Boston.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Pavel Buchnevich, who will be playing in his 500th career game on Monday. Buchnevich ranks second on the team with 48 points (24 goals, 24 assists).

BRUINS Charlie McAvoy scored the overtime winner when the Bruins visited Enterprise Center in January. McAvoy leads all Bruins defensemen with 42 points (nine goals, 33 assists) and ranks No. 16 among NHL blueliners.

BLUE NOTES
The Blues are 11-9-1 in their last 20 games, dating back to Jan. 20.

The Blues' power play has been operating at 23.2% since Jan. 20, good for 11th in the NHL in that span.

Oskar Sundqvist - who signed a two-year extension with the Blues on Thursday - has 15 assists this season, which is three shy of his career high of 18, which he did in 2022-23 with the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild.

[theohall]

While I prefer watching Blues wins... it would be better if they lost to improve their draft position... Granted, they won't get anywhere near Anaheim, San Jose, Chicago, or Columbus... but still... get a better draft position.