BLUES The St. Louis Blues gave a strong effort on Sunday afternoon against the Colorado Avalanche, but ultimately lost the lead in the final 10 seconds of regulation to take a dramatic overtime loss.
Brandon Saad hustled for his first shorthanded goal of the season as the Blues penalty kill played a rock-solid game – an area they’ve struggled in this season. On top of Saad’s shorthanded goal, the Blues went 3-for-3 against the NHL’s No. 2 power play.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” said Vladimir Tarasenko. “Overall, the team game was better, but it’s hard to lose games like this… But we have a big game tomorrow, too.”
After Monday’s tilt, the Blues will set off on their longest road trip of the season, playing five games on the road in a span of nine days. This trip marks a key opportunity to rise in the standings, with all five teams ahead of the Blues in the Western Conference standings. A strong showing against these teams – Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle and Vegas – could put the Blues right back in the Stanley Cup Playoff picture.
They host the Predators with a record of 12-15-1, worth 25 points and sixth place in the Central Division.
PREDATORS The Nashville Predators are looking to establish greater consistency as the midway point of the season approaches. Before a six-day break last week, they were on a nine-game run in which they went 7-1-1 that included an impressive win over the New Jersey Devils.
However, they’ve now lost two in a row as they prepare to make a one-game road trip to St. Louis.
On Saturday, the Predators fell in a tight battle with the Ottawa Senators. No goals were scored until just before the three-minute mark in the second period. Ottawa capitalized on a pair of power-play goals – including a Nashville bench minor for too many men on the ice – to spark momentum, then held on for a 3-2 win.
Just as the Blues have a big array of conference and divisional games up ahead, the Predators have their own chance to work their way back up the standings. Monday’s game in St. Louis represents Nashville’s first of 10 straight games against Western Conference teams, including six against the Central Division.
They head to Enterprise Center with a record of 12-11-2, worth 26 points and fifth place in the Central Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues had a tough trip to Nashville earlier this season, falling 6-2 on the second night of a back-to-back on Oct. 27. Over their last seven matchups at Enterprise Center, the Blues are 4-2-1 against the division-rival Predators.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Vladimir Tarasenko, who scored his first power-play goal of the season to put the Blues on the board on Sunday. Tarasenko has 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in 38 career games vs. Nashville.
PREDATORS Roman Josi, looking to follow up his career-high 96 points from last season. Josi shares No. 2 on the team with 21 points in 25 games this year, including three against St. Louis in their previous matchup.
BLUE NOTES
Brandon Saad is expected to dress in his 100th game as a Blue on Monday vs. Nashville… The Blues have scored a power-play goal in five straight games against Nashville, going 6-for-10 on the power play over those five games… The Blues are 10-4-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the game… Blues defensemen have scored five power-play goals this year, sharing the NHL lead.
