Preview: Blues vs. Lightning

When: Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
Tickets: Online at ticketmaster.com

QUICK HITS

BLUES The St. Louis Blues (6-6-0) snapped their three-game losing streak on Saturday with a 4-2 home victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, closing out their season series with a 2-0 sweep.

Advertisement

The Maple Leafs were the first to get on the board early in the opening period. However, in the second, the Blues found the back of the net three times, with Colton Parayko lighting the lamp twice. Each team added one more goal in the third to end the game.

The win marked goaltender Jordan Binnington’s 148th victory, tying him with Jake Allen for second all-time in franchise history. Binnington, who had 35 saves on the night, praised his team for their perseverance and toughness to get the win after trailing.

“I feel like all season we’ve been pretty resilient in games and, even when we get down a goal, we can battle back and fight until the end,” Binnington said. “And that’s the way we’ve got to play. Saturday night at home is a big win for us and just finding a way to get it done and everyone kind of playing a key role. So it was a fun night.”

The Blues will be without defenseman Philip Broberg after he sustained a lower-body injury in the second period Saturday. Head Coach Drew Bannister announced on Monday that Broberg would miss four to six weeks. He currently leads Blues defensemen and is second overall on the team in points with nine (two goals, seven assists).

The Blues’ matchup against the Lightning is the second in a five-game homestand, with Utah, Washington and Boston still to follow.

LIGHTNING The Tampa Bay Lightning (7-5-0) are coming into Tuesday night’s matchup on a two-game losing streak, most recently falling to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday by a score of 7-4.

The Lightning were first on the board in Winnipeg with two goals in the first period. The Jets responded with three consecutive goals before the Lightning tied the game at the end of the second. The Jets outscored the Lightning 4-1 in the final period to take the win.

Tampa Bay will have a bit of a different look after not re-signing veteran Steven Stamkos this summer. In the former captain’s 16 seasons with the franchise, he earned 1,137 points (555 goals, 582 assists) and led the team to two Stanley Cup championships. However, the Lightning did acquire forward Jake Guentzel from the Carolina Hurricanes and signed him to a long-term extension. In his 10^th season in the NHL, Guentzel has 504 points (232 goals, 272 assists).

Last season the Lightning finished in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, clinching the playoffs for the seventh season in a row. They lost in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, in five games.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Defenseman Colton Parayko netted two goals and had an assist in Saturday night’s victory against the Maple Leafs. Parayko has eight points on the season thus far (three goals, five assists). Last season he led the NHL with 218 blocked shots and led all defensemen with 73 takeaways. Parayko is in his 10th season with the Blues and has accumulated 267 points (64 goals, 203 assists).

LIGHTNING Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning with 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 12 games. Last season, Kucherov led the league in points with 144 (44 goals, 100 assists). In his 11^th season with the franchise, Kucherov ranks third all-time for points with 893 (330 goals, 563 assists).

BLUE NOTES

• With his next victory, Jordan Binnington will pass Jake Allen for second on the Blues’ all-time franchise list with 149 wins. With his next appearance, Binnington will also pass Allen for second on the Blues’ all-time franchise list in games played at 290.
• Among teams who have played at least five home games this season (27 teams), the Blues’ 11 goals against are the second-least in the NHL (1. Tampa Bay, 10)
• Jordan Kyrou scored his third goal of the season on Saturday vs. Toronto. Kyrou has four points in his last six games (one goal, three assists)
• With his next game, Ryan Suter will match Glen Wesley (1,457 games) for 27^th all-time among all skaters and eighth all-time among all defensemen. Suter has appeared in 465 consecutive games, which is the second longest active streak (1. Brent Burns, 853). Since the NHL started tracking time on ice in 1997-98, Suter ranks second with a total TOI of 35,412 (1. Chara, 39,485).