BLUES The St. Louis Blues hope to ring in the new year with a win after two tough losses in back-to-back nights to close out 2023. First, a 1-1 tie that lasted over 40 full minutes of game time was broken by Colorado’s Devon Toews as the Avalanche barely outlasted the Blues at Enterprise Center.
The next night, the Blues were down 3-1 in Pittsburgh and came up just short in their comeback efforts after a third-period goal from Kasperi Kapanen.
Thomas put the Blues’ first goal on the board in both matchups, scoring shorthanded on Friday and on the power-play Saturday. Despite the fewest times shorthanded in the NHL (97), the Blues’ nine shorthanded goals share the League lead. The Blues score a shorthanded goal on roughly one out of every 11 opposing power plays (9.3%), the best figure in the League.
While the penalty kill continues to perform well – including shorthanded goals, the Blues are a Top 5 PK team this season at 88.7 Net PK% – the power play may be starting to turn the corner after a slow start. From the beginning of the season through Dec. 12 (28 games), the Blues’ 8.4% power play and seven power-play goals scored were only ahead of Washington in the League standings. In the eight games since then, however, the Blues share 10th with five power-play goals and share 13th at 21.7% efficiency.
The Blues hope this progression continues into 2024, as they open the New Year with a matchup against the high-flying Vancouver Canucks amid a home-heavy slate to start the month. Visiting Carolina for a one-game trip on Saturday, the Blues play six of their next eight games at Enterprise Center.
They’ll host the Canucks with a record of 18-17-1, worth 37 points and sixth in the Central Division as of Tuesday afternoon.
CANUCKS The Vancouver Canucks started the year on the right foot, scoring five goals in the first period on Tuesday night en route to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Elias Pettersson’s two goals and Pius Suter’s three points led the way for Vancouver, who continue to battle with Vegas for the top spot in the Pacific Division.
The Canucks continue to be among the best teams in the NHL this season, their win on Tuesday being No. 8 over their last 11 games. Though they impressively allow just 2.57 goals per game (No. 5 in the NHL), they are even better in the offensive zone – the Canucks’ 3.84 goals per game sit atop the League leaderboard.
JT Miller leads a strong goup of top contributors this season, his 50 points leading the team just ahead of young stars Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. Miller, who turns 31 in March, is the only Canuck in their Top 10 point scorers this year over the age of 30.
Vancouver’s matchup with the Blues on Thursday marks the start of a season-long seven game road trip for the Canucks, who then continue East to face a slate of Eastern Conference opponents.
The Canucks travel to St. Louis with a record of 24-10-3, worth 51 points and first place in the Pacific Division and Western Conference.
HEAD TO HEAD The Blues fell 5-0 at Vancouver earlier this year, hoping to bounce back to their 2-0-1 record pace from last season’s series. The two teams play for the third and final time not long after Thursday’s matchup, reuniting in Vancouver on Jan. 24.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Scott Perunovich, who leads the team with four assists over the last four games. Still looking for his first NHL goal, the 25-year-old defenseman had two points in the Dec. 27 win over Dallas after missing most of last year with a shoulder injury.
CANUCKS Elias Pettersson, who scored two goals to help lift the Canucks over the Senators on Tuesday. Pettersson is up to 45 points in 37 games this season, including six in his last five games and two against the Blues earlier this season.
BLUE NOTES
- Five Blues prospects are set to compete in the Semifinals of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships on Thursday – Jimmy Snuggerud (USA), Otto Stenberg (Sweden), Theo Lindstein (Sweden), Jakub Stancl (Czechia) and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (Finland)
- Blues prospects have an NHL-high 34 points in the U20 international tournament so far, led by seven from Stenberg and six each from Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky and Lindstein
- Prior to their loss in their last matchup with Vancouver, the Blues had earned points in six straight games against the Canucks (5-0-1)
- Colton Parayko is expected to dress in his 614th career game, which will move him ahead of Al MacInnis and into a tie with Barclay Plager for 4th among defenseman on the Blues all-time leaderboard
- The Blues’ nine shorthanded goals this season share the most they have had in a season since they had 10 in the 2008-09 season (also had nine in 2021-22). The franchise record is 21 shorthanded goals, set in 1975-76
