BLUES The St. Louis Blues saw their losing streak extend to six games when their comeback efforts came up just short at Enterprise Center on Tuesday night.
Falling 5-3 to the Seattle Kraken, the Blues scored goals in three different situations – Robert Thomas shorthanded, Brandon Saad at 4-on-4 and Pavel Buchnevich at 5-on-5.
Though he was ultimately kept off the scoresheet, Kasperi Kapanen contributed to multi-point efforts from linemates Thomas and Buchnevich – while leading the team with four shots on goal in his Blues debut.
“(Kapanen) was good, he had good chances I thought,” said Head Coach Craig Berube. “That line was good… I thought he skated well in all situations tonight – real good stuff.”
Looking to keep building good habits amidst a stretch of several roster changes, the Blues set out for a three-game road trip out West against teams who have all also been active ahead of Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline. Starting with Thursay’s late-night matchup with San Jose, the road trip continues in Los Angeles and Arizona before the Blues return to Enterprise Center.
They’ll face the Sharks with a record of 26-29-5, worth 57 points and sixth in the Central Division.
SHARKS The San Jose Sharks made a big splash on the trade market on Sunday, sending forward Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils for a slew of assets highlighted by conditional first-round picks in the 2023 and 2024 NHL Draft.
Meier was in his seventh season with the Sharks, where he’s recorded 316 points in 451 games.
Moving forward, the Sharks continue to be led in scoring by Erik Karlsson and his campaign to earn the third Norris Trophy of his 14-year career. Karlsson’s 77 points lead all NHL defensemen and rank No. 7 among all skaters, on pace to blow away his career high of 82 back in 2015-16.
The Sharks are facing their own struggles in the win column, losing three games in a row and six of their last seven as they continue a seven-game homestand at SAP Center. Thursday’s bout with the Blues will be game No. 6 of the stay, which concludes against Washington on Saturday.
San Jose got out to the first lead of their matchup with Montreal on Tuesday, but three unanswered goals in the third drove the Canadiens to victory.
The Sharks will host the Blues with a record of 18-31-12, worth 48 points and seventh in the Pacific Division as of Wednesday afternoon.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues won 5-3 in their only matchup with San Jose this year, with the season series quickly concluding at Enterprise center on March 9. The Blues have won six straight games against the Sharks, as well as their last four matchups at SAP Center.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Pavel Buchnevich, who reached a three-game point streak with a goal and an assist Tuesday night against Seattle. Buchnevich has nine points in nine career games against the Sharks, including two assists earlier this season.
SHARKS Erik Karlsson, leading San Jose in scoring by more than 20 points with 77 in 61 games played. The 32-year-old defenseman recorded a 14-game point streak this past December, setting a Sharks franchise record while logging two goals and 20 assists.
BLUE NOTES
Thursday is the final game the Blues will play before the NHL Trade Deadline occurs at 2 p.m. CT on March 3. So far, General Manager Doug Armstrong has traded away Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly, Ivan Barbashev, Niko Mikkola and Noel Acciari and received Sammy Blais, four prospects and five future draft picks while also using the roster and salary cap space to claim Kasperi Kapanen off of waivers. Currently, the Blues have a League-best three picks in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft, including a five percent chance at the No. 1 pick as of Wednesday afternoon… The Blues are 84.6 percent on the penalty kill since Dec. 11, ranking No. 6 in the NHL and scoring five shorthanded goals.
