Preview: Blues at Capitals

BLUES The St. Louis Blues finished up their four-game homestand with a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia on Monday night as they continue a streak of seven straight games against Eastern Conference opponents. The loss brought them to 2-2-1 against their East foes so far, with two matchups against the Washington Capitals remaining.

With a 2-2 tie early in the third period, the Blues allowed a late goal from Philadelphia’s Owen Tippett (and an empty-netter) as the Flyers escaped with a tight win. Oskar Sundqvist and Brandon Saad scored, Sundqvist’s marking the Blues’ third straight game with a power-play goal for the first time all season.

Advertisement

After taking 19 games to score their first five power-play goals of the season, the Blues have now scored five in their last three games. Drew Bannister and consultant Brad Richards have been able to flip the script on the early struggles, getting the Blues’ power play efficiency from 31st in the NHL to No. 9 since Bannister took over.

With the homestand over, the Blues begin a home-and-home series with the Washington Capitals on Thursday night – starting in D.C. and concluding in St. Louis on Saturday. With a West Coast trip awaiting afterwards, the Blues will play four of their next five games on the road.

The Blues will have to be without Kasperi Kapanen for some time, as it was announced on Wednesday that Kapanen would be re-evaluated in four weeks with a lower-body injury sustained in Monday’s game. Adam Gaudette, who leads the AHL with 24 goals this season, has been recalled from the Springfield Thunderbirds.

The Blues visit the Capitals with a record of 21-19-2, worth 44 points and sixth in the Central Division.

CAPITALS After seeing an eight-year playoff streak end last season, the Washington Capitals are hoping to jump back into the playoff picture at the midway point here this season. They have mostly hovered around .500, including a current stretch of alternating wins and losses for their last six games.

Similar to the Blues, the Capitals have struggled to score on the power play over the first half of the season – currently ranked 30th in the NHL at 13.3%.

Their last game, a 2-0 shutout win over the Anaheim Ducks, saw Ethan Bear’s goal late in the first period hold the lead until an empty-netter sealed the win. The shutout was 2022 Stanley Cup Champion Darcy Kuemper’s first of the season and sixth since joining Washington ahead of last season.

Alex Ovechkin continues to lead the way as he chases history, leading the team in scoring as he sits 64 goals shy of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record. Ovechkin has missed Washington’s last three games, though he did participate in morning skate ahead of Tuesday’s win over Anaheim. It remains to be seen if the future Hall of Famer will suit up on Thursday night in the second of two straight home games.

The Capitals head to St. Louis following Thursday’s matchup, finishing the home-and-home series to start a four-game trip through the Central Division. With stops in Minnesota, Colorado and Dallas, the Capitals are in the midst of six straight games against the Western Conference.

Washington visits the Blues with a record of 21-15-6, worth 48 points and a tie for fourth in a tight Metropolitan Division.

HEAD TO HEAD The Blues went 2-0-0 against Washington last season with 5-2 win in Washington and a 5-4 shootout win in St. Louis. Overall, they are on an active four-game win streak (and seven-game point streak) against Washington, outscoring the Capitals 19-9 over the four wins (excluding shootout goal).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Brayden Schenn, who tallied two points in his 900th career NHL game on Monday vs. Philadelphia. Schenn has an active four-game point streak going into Thursday’s matchup, his longest of the season.

CAPITALS Dylan Strome, currently leading the Capitals with 15 goals this season. Strome has three points in his last five games and tallied two assists against the Blues last season.

BLUE NOTES

• In their last seven games at Capital One Arena, the Blues are 5-1-1, outscoring the Capitals 30-15
• Adam Gaudette, whom the Blues recalled from Springfield on Wednesday, was acquired from the Maple Leafs in the Ryan O’Reilly trade last season. The 27-year-old forward has 36 points in 37 games this season and was selected to the 2024 AHL All-Star Game
• The Blues first six games of January were against teams who currently hold a playoff position, while their 7th and 8th games of the month will come against Washington, who currently sits just one point out of the Eastern Conference Wild Card (3-2-1 so far in this stretch)
• The Blues are 15-3-1 this season when they score at least three goals in a game and are 18-3-1 this season when allowing three or fewer
• With 14 wins in goal this season, Jordan Binnington sits just six shy of matching Curtis Joseph (137) for No. 3 on the Blues all-time franchise list
• On Monday vs. Philadelphia, Jordan Kyrou recorded a shot on goal for his 136th consecutive game, dating back to March 26, 2022, which set the franchise record for most consecutive games played with at least one shot on goal