Preview: Blues vs. Red Wings

BLUES The St. Louis Blues are aiming to get back in the win column after losing their third straight game on Saturday night in Chicago. A late shorthanded goal from Oskar Sundqvist prevented a shutout, but the Blues’ offensive struggles continued for a 3-1 final score.

“I feel we just pick and choose when we want to turn up the intensity meter in hockey games,” said a frustrated Brayden Schenn after the game. “You’re not going to win like that in this league, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing.”

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The last two losses – to Columbus and Chicago, respectively – saw the Blues outshoot their opponents by a combined 82-46, scoring three goals in total and allowing eight.

The Blues, who are facing just their first three-game skid of the season, have a chance to get some wins back under their belt when they come back to Enterprise Center this week for their longest stretch so far this season. Six of the Blues’ next eight games will be at Enterprise Center, where their .636 home point percentage ranks them No. 12 in the NHL.

The three-game homestand starts on Tuesday with Hockey Fights Cancer Night against several familiar faces with the Detroit Red Wings, and it continues on Thursday against Ottawa and finishes Saturday against Dallas.

The Blues host the Red Wings with a season record of 13-13-1, worth 27 points and sixth in the Central Division.

RED WINGS The Detroit Red Wings, though they started their season with some strong play, are facing key absences and balancing lineup changes over the last week.

After an altercation with the Ottawa Senators (who are also visiting Enterprise Center this week), the Red Wings are expecting to be without captain Dylan Larkin due to injury and David Perron due to a six-game suspension. Larkin exited the eventual 5-1 loss after a hit from Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph, for which Perron’s retaliation earned him the sentence. JT Compher and former Blue Klim Kostin also join Larkin on injured reserve.

Detroit has seen positive headlines recently from a pair of former Chicago Blackhawks, bringing in Alex DeBrincat with a trade this offseason and signing three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane as a free agent last week. DeBrincat, who scored 66 points in 82 games with Ottawa last season, leads the team at 26 points this season. Kane, entering his 17th NHL season after 19 games with the Rangers last year, scored his first goal as a Red Wing in the loss to the Senators.

Prior to the Ottawa game, the Red Wings fell 6-5 in overtime to the Sharks in which Detroit was up 4-0 late in the second period. The two losses came right after a 6-1-0 stretch to help the Wings jockey for early playoff positioning. The Red Wings took their third straight loss, however, on Monday night in Dallas to start a back-to-back.

Detroit owns a season record of 14-9-4, worth 32 points and fourth place in the Atlantic as of Monday afternoon.

HEAD TO HEAD The Blues went 1-0-1 against Detroit last year, finishing up the season series on Feb. 24 at Little Caesars Arena. Overall, the Blues are 4-1-1 in their last six matchups and have earned points in 13 of the last 15.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Justin Faulk, who helped set up Jordan Kyrou’s highlight-reel goal against Vegas last week. Faulk shares the team lead among defensemen with Torey Krug at 12 points this season, still looking for his first goal.

RED WINGS Alex DeBrincat, who leads Detroit with 13 goals this season. DeBrincat recorded his fifth career hat trick against the Flames on Oct. 22, and the 25-year-old forward has five points in his last five games.

BLUE NOTES

• Tuesday’s game marks Hockey Fight Cancer Night at Enterprise Center. In conjunction with the celebration and the team’s continued efforts to raise awareness and funds in the search for a cure, the Blues are launching a new collaboration with The V Foundation for Cancer Research to fund a $200,000 cancer research grant for Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.
• Eight players currently rostered by the Blues and Red Wings have played for both franchises in the last five years – Detroit’s Robby Fabbri, Ville Husso, Klim Kostin, David Perron and Jake Walman, and St. Louis’ Nick Leddy, Oskar Sundqvist and Jakub Vrana. Thomas Greiss and Jacob de La Rose also spent time with both clubs in this span.
• Doug Armstrong will serve his 1,400th career game as an NHL GM on Tuesday, becoming just the 21st GM in history to reach the milestone. Earlier this year, Armstrong became the first individual in franchise history to reach 1,000 games as Blues GM
• Despite sharing the fewest times shorthanded in the League this season (74), the Blues share the League lead with seven shorthanded goals. Pavel Buchnevich and Oskar Sundqvist share second in the League with three shorthanded points each
• The Blues average 3.45 goals per game at Enterprise Center this season, sharing No. 10 in the League in home-ice scoring. Jordan Binnington’s five home wins share 10th most among all NHL goaltenders