BLUES A poor start made the difference for the St. Louis Blues at Mullett Arena on Saturday night, taking a 3-0 deficit in the first despite playing two strong periods of hockey afterwards.
After a 9-3 shot differential for Arizona in the first period, the Blues dialed up their offense and outshot the Coyotes 29-13 in the next two. Brandon Saad’s goal got them on the board, but an empty-netter from Alex Kerfoot sealed the Blues’ fate.
“We have about 10 minutes there of bad hockey, 15 minutes of okay hockey and 35 minutes of good hockey,” said Torey Krug. “But it’s not good enough.”
Large, early deficits have been a common theme in Blues losses this year. Of the Blues’ 11 losses this season, eight have included a three-goal deficit at some point in the game. Five of those deficits came before the games’ midway points.
The Blues will look to come out with aggression in the early minutes of their next game, a road matchup against the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights. They are nearing the end of a very road-heavy portion of the schedule – from Nov. 16 to Dec. 9, 10 of the Blues’ 13 games have been or will be played in opposing buildings.
They’ll visit the Golden Knights with a record of 12-10-1, worth 25 points and fifth in the Central Division.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS The Vegas Golden Knights have began their Stanley Cup defense in strong fashion, leading the NHL standings ahead of Sunday’s games. Their offseason saw a lot of stability, including signing former Blue Ivan Barbashev to a five-year, $25 million extension following his acquisition at the Trade Deadline.
The Golden Knights’ League-leading season record was driven primarily by an 11-0-1 point streak to open the year. Since taking their first regulation loss on Nov. 5 in Anaheim, Vegas is just 5-5-3.
Vegas is coming off of two straight 4-1 wins, the first against the red-hot Vancouver Canucks on Thursday and the second against Washington on Saturday. Jack Eichel led the way with three points in each win, driving early leads by Vegas and allowing Alex Pietrangelo and the Golden Knights defense to hold the line – holding both teams to 22 shots.
Behind Eichel’s point contributions this year are William Karlsson, Mark Stone and Shea Theodore – though Theodore has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury.
Monday’s matchup is the first of two straight with the Blues, the two teams later traveling to St. Louis for a home-and-home rematch on Wednesday.
The Golden Knights host the Blues with a record of 16-5-4, worth 36 points and first place in the Pacific Division.
HEAD TO HEAD The Blues went 1-1-1 against the Golden Knights last year, earning points in both matchups in Vegas. The season series continues with a quick rematch at Enterprise Center on Wednesday, finishing back in St. Louis in late March.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Pavel Buchnevich, who leads the Blues with seven points in the last five games. The 28-year-old forward has 10 points in 13 road games this season, with both of his three-point games coming in enemy territory.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS Jack Eichel, leading the Golden Knights with 27 points in 25 games this season. Since arriving via trade from Buffalo, Eichel has 118 points in 126 regular-season games as a Golden Knight and led the NHL with 26 playoff points las spring to help Vegas capture their first Stanley Cup.
BLUE NOTES
- Since Vegas entered the NHL in 2017-18, the Blues are 10-6-7 against them (6-4-1 at home; 4-2-6 on the road)
- The Blues have scored at least three goals in six straight games against Vegas
- The Blues are 28-for-31 (90.3%) on the penalty kill on the road this season, which shares the second best mark in the NHL. The Blues have allowed just three power-play goals on the road, also sharing No. 2 in the League. The Blues have also scored five shorthanded goals on the road, leading the League
- After posting just three points in his first nine games of the season, Pavel Buchnevich has 15 points over his last 12 games
- Colton Parayko reached No. 6 on the all-time leaderboard for games played as a Blues defenseman on Thursday vs. Buffalo (599, 600 after Saturday). The 30-year-old defenseman is currently 13 games shy of tying Al MacInnis for No. 5, 14 games shy of Barclay Plager for No. 4 and 16 games shy of Bob Plager for No. 3. Barret Jackman and Alex Pietrangelo top the list at 803 and 758 games, respectively
