Blues at Sabres

BLUES The St. Louis Blues (7-9-0) are looking for a fresh start when they begin their three-game road trip out east on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Blues are coming off a 2-3 homestand that started with two wins, but ended with three straight losses.

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The club fell just short on Thursday vs. the Boston Bruins. Forwards Brayden Schenn and Oskar Sundqvist each found the back of the net, giving the Blues a 2-0 lead in the second period. However the Bruins scored three times in the third, including the game-winner with 1:47 remaining, to get the 3-2 victory.

After the game, Head Coach Drew Bannister emphasized that perseverance and tenacity will be the key for his team to move forward and earn positive results.

“As a group, just showing resilience and push through when things aren’t going well,” Bannister said. “Obviously, we’re struggling with our game to find it and put it together for 60 minutes. But it’s going to come, and it’s going to be by playing resilient and playing together.”

The Blues can get some revenge on Saturday when they face Boston in their building for the only time this season, but first they have to prepare for the Sabres to start the road trip.

SABRES The Buffalo Sabres (7-8-1) are coming off a 7-5 loss against the Montreal Canadiens heading into Thursday night’s matchup.

After a low-scoring opening period, both teams went into the first intermission tied at 1-1. It was back and forth the rest of the way as there were plenty of goals and five lead changes over the final two periods, ending with a Canadiens win. Dylan Cozens, Alex Tuch, Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin all had multi-point games for Buffalo.

The Sabres’ offseason was highlighted by the re-hiring of the winningest head coach in team history, Lindy Ruff. He returns to Buffalo as the fifth-winningest coach in NHL history after 11 seasons with the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars.

On the ice, the Sabres signed forward Jason Zucker from the Nashville Predators. So far this season, he has totaled 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 16 games.

The Sabres are currently in a 13-year playoff drought, the longest in NHL history. Their last postseason game was a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on April 26, 2011.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Captain Brayden Schenn tallied his second goal and sixth point this season when he opened scoring on Tuesday. Schenn is just seven points shy of reaching his 400^th as a Blue. The forward has appeared in 180 consecutive games, dating back to Oct. 15, 2022, which is the longest active streak by a Blue.

SABRES Tage Thompson, who was acquired by Buffalo from St. Louis in the Ryan O’Reilly trade, leads the Sabres in goals (11) and points (18) this season. He has totaled 271 career points (143 goals, 123 assists) in 388 games.

BLUE NOTES

• The Blues are 5-2-0 in their last seven games against the Sabres. The Blues have scored at least three goals in six of their last seven games vs. Buffalo, outscoring them 30-22.

• Blues defensemen have accounted for 22.5 percent of the Blues’ goals this season, the third-highest percentage in the NHL (1. Seattle, 22.9 percent).

• Jordan Kyrou has a five-game point streak (three goals, two assists) after recording his ninth assist of the season on Tuesday vs. Boston. He has assists in back-to-back games.