BLUES After competing against each other just four days prior, the St. Louis Blues (29-27-6) and the Los Angeles Kings will meet again on Wednesday for a late-night hockey battle.
The Blues are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday, marking the end to their four-game win streak and six-game point streak. Despite falling short, Head Coach Jim Montgomery was proud of the way his team competed and expects his team will carry the energy into the next game.
“We’re happy with the way we’re playing,” Montgomery said. “We like our spirit. I thought we were resilient. So we’re just going to keep that spirit alive and we’ll march on to Wednesday.”
The Blues doubled the Stars’ shots on goal, firing 42 shots compared to Dallas’ 21. Alexey Toropchenko led the charge with a career-high nine shots on goal in the game.
The Blues’ three goals belonged to forwards Zack Bolduc, Dylan Holloway and Nathan Walker. Robert Thomas extended his assist streak to 10 games on Walker’s goal, tying Craig Janney for second in franchise history for longest assist streak. In the past 10 games, Thomas has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists).
The Blues will continue their six-game road trip in Southern California, which includes Wednesday’s matchup with LA, a Friday meeting with the Anaheim Ducks and another meeting with LA on Saturday.
KINGS The Los Angeles Kings are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night, their fourth straight loss.
The lone goal on Monday belonged to Anze Kopitar for his 14th tally of the season and his 1,259th career point. LA directed 42 shots on goal against the Blackhawks, but were thwarted by newly-acquired Spencer Knight in his first start with Chicago.
The Kings are eighth in the league on the penalty kill, stopping 81.3 percent of all opponents’ power play opportunities. However their own power play has struggled, going 2-for-13 in their last five games, ranking 30th in the NHL with a 15.2 percent overall conversion rate.
The Kings remain in third place in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference with 70 points.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Rookie Zack Bolduc netted his fourth goal in four games on Sunday. In 52 games this season, he has earned 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists). Bolduc leads the team and all rookies with a +14 plus/minus rating.
KINGS Adrian Kempe earned an assist on Monday for his 50th point on the season. Kempe leads LA in points and goals (26). In nine seasons with the Kings, Kempe has 378 points (185 goals, 193 assists).
BLUE NOTES
- The Blues have won three straight games against the Kings, outscoring them 11-5 in those tilts.
- Robert Thomas is six assists shy of reaching 40 for the fourth time in his career. If he can complete this feat, he would become the sixth Blue in franchise history to record at least four seasons with 40-plus assists. If he reaches this milestone by March 26, he would be the youngest to reach four seasons of 40 assists.
- Dylan Holloway netted his 20th goal of the season on Sunday for a three-game goal streak. Holloway has a five-game point streak (four goals, two assists) and has eight points in his last nine games (four goals, four assists).
- Since Feb. 8, defensemen Colton Parayko and Philip Broberg are tied for second among all NHL defensemen with three goals apiece.
