BLUES Though the comeback came up just short, the St. Louis Blues played with pace and offensive execution on Sunday night in Los Angeles. A tough first period saw the Blues down 5-1 to the Kings, but the team perservered and erased that initial deficit to fall 7-6 to the NHL’s hottest team.
The loss was the Blues’ first game without earning a point since March 17, continuing a 4-1-1 stretch in which they have been among the best goal scorers in the League. Over these last six games, the Blues lead the League with 26 total goals.
“We battled and competed and scored some nice goals,” said Craig Berube. “We were in the game, but overall we gotta be better in net defensively and our penalty kill’s gotta be better, too.”
The newest Blues continue to make their presence known, with Sammy Blais and Kasperi Kapanen tallying four points each across the back-to-back set over the weekend. Kapanen’s five goals since March 17 leads the Blues and shares No. 3 in the NHL.
The Blues return to Enterprise Center for a one-game stint against Vancouver on Tuesday before traveling to face divisional foes Chicago and Nashville.
They’ll face the Canucks with a record of 33-34-6, worth 72 points and sixth in the Central Division.
CANUCKS The Vancouver Canucks have been playing a strong brand of hockey since their overtime win in St. Louis on Feb. 23, going an impressive 12-4-0. They have been the No. 5 overall team in the NHL in that span, boasting the No. 2 defense with 2.25 goals allowed per game.
Elias Pettersson and JT Miller have been key drivers of this recent stretch, each posting 21 points to lead the Canucks in scoring. Pettersson is up to 93 points on the season, exceeding his previous career best by 25 with nine games still remaining on the calendar.
Pettersson scored two goals in Vancouver’s most recent game, a 4-2 win over Chicago on the second half of a back-to-back set and following up a 3-1 win at Dallas. The 24-year-old forward extended his point streak to 12 games, sharing the longest active streak in the League.
Quinn Hughes leads the Canucks with 64 assists this season, No. 2 among NHL defensemen and the most among any skaters from his 2018 Draft class.
Tuesday’s matchup in St. Louis marks the end of a three-game road trip for the Canucks, who will return home for five straight afterwards.
They’ll visit the Blues with a season record of 34-34-5, worth 73 points and sixth in the Pacific Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues are 1-0-1 against the Canucks this season, winning 5-1 in Vancouver but falling in overtime at Enterprise Center. The Blues have points in five straight matchups with Vancouver (4-0-1), outscoring the Canucks 18-9 in that span.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Sammy Blais, who shares the team lead with eight points in the last six games. Blais has 15 points in 22 games since coming back to St. Louis, his eight goals in that span already matching his career-best total for a season.
CANUCKS Elias Pettersson, who scored the game winner in overtime at Enterprise Center on Feb. 23. Pettersson posted three points in the matchup with the Blues, totalling 15 points in 10 career games against St. Louis.
BLUE NOTES
Tuesday’s game marks Barkin’ for the Blues Night at Enterprise Center, with some game proceeds benefitting Duo Dogs… The Blues have not allowed a power-play goal to the Canucks in seven straight matchups, going 22-for-22 in that span… The Blues’ 43 goals since March 9 lead the NHL, and Jordan Kyrou‘s seven goals share No. 3 among all skaters… Robert Thomas is four assists shy of becoming the first Blue since Doug Weight in 2003-04 to post back-to-back seasons with at least 50 assists… Blais’ active four-game point streak is the longest of his career, including back-to-back multi-point games.
