TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES Despite playing without David Perron, Robert Thomas, Tyler Bozak, Justin Faulk, James Neal, Klim Kostin and Jordan Binnington due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols, the St. Louis Blues found themselves deadlocked in a 3-3 game with the League-leading Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center.
Then, on one play in the the third period, goalie Ville Husso and defenseman Jake Walman sustained injuries to leave the Blues even more shorthanded.
Goalie Charlie Lindgren came in off the bench, seeing his first NHL action in almost two calendar years, made three saves before Pavel Buchnevich scored a wraparound overtime game-winner, helping the Blues to three of a possible four points in a home-and-home set with the Panthers.
In addition to three players on the Blues' COVID-19 list, the team's AHL affiliate - the Springfield Thunderbirds - has 13 people (coaches, trainers and players) on the COVID list, which really limits the Blues' options.
The team did recall forward Nathan Walker on Wednesday under emergency conditions.
"We're working through it, trying to do the best we can to put a product on the ice that is competitive," said Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong. "I tip my hat to the guys for what they did (Tuesday) against a very good Florida team."
With Binnington out until next week and Husso being evaluated for a lower-body injury, Lindgren is likely to start for the Blues on Thursday against the Red Wings. The team signed Jon Gillies to a one-year, two-way contract on Wednesday. Gillies is expected to serve as the backup.
RED WINGS The Detroit Red Wings were limited to just 16 shots on goal on Tuesday night in a 5-2 loss against the Nashville Predators at Little Caesars Arena.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Detroit. The streak began with a 4-2 win against the Blues on Nov. 24.
"I didn't think we were ready to play hard and compete at a high level tonight," Red Wings Head Coach Jeff Blashill said after the game. "(Nashville) wanted those two points more than we did."
The Red Wings currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 13-10-3 record (29 points).
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues and Red Wings will meet Thursday for the 288th time in the regular season.
The Blues have collected points in five straight games against Detroit at Enterprise Center (2-0-3).
Brayden Schenn has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 20 career games against the Red Wings.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Ivan Barbashev, who has 17 points in 25 games this season. Barbashev's career high in points was 26, which he set in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
RED WINGS Lucas Raymond, who is playing in his first NHL season. The 19-year-old forward leads Detroit with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 25 games this season.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues have won five straight games at home, their longest stretch since Feb. 18-29, 2020. During that stretch, the team is averaging 4.40 goals per game… St. Louis has won eight games this season when giving up the first goal, which is the most in the League… The Blues have lost only one game in regulation when keeping the opponents' power play scoreless (9-1-4).
The Detroit Red Wings' winning streak ended with a thud. They'll try to start another one when they visit St. Louis on Thursday.
Detroit lost at home 5-2 to Nashville on Tuesday after collecting five consecutive victories.
Team captain Dylan Larkin said the Wings didn't deserve to win against the Predators.
"They outbattled us," Larkin said. "We've been playing well, good hockey. We won five games in a row. We didn't come out and execute."
That was readily apparent in the disparity in shots on goal -- Nashville had 33, Detroit just 16. The Wings are in the midst of playing three games in four nights -- they'll face Colorado on Friday after visiting the Blues.
"We have to forget this one quickly," Larkin said. "We have two more teams from the West that are tough, on the road, and we have to set our focus on that. Those are huge hockey games for our team. The biggest thing now is how we respond in St. Louis and Colorado."
Whether they'll have star rookie defenseman Moritz Seider is a major question mark. Seider left Tuesday's game in the third period after getting slammed into the boards.
Regardless of who plays, the Red Wings have to be much sharper to avert a losing streak.
"We weren't ready to play," coach Jeff Blashill said. "They wanted those two points more than we wanted those two points. Certainly their physicality and competitiveness was better than ours."
The Blues have played in a lot of tight battles the past two weeks. Over the last six games, two were decided in overtime and two more required shootouts.
They had a home-and-home with the Florida Panthers the last two games. Florida won at home 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday and St. Louis eked out a 4-3 overtime triumph on Tuesday.
Pavel Buchnevich scored the game-winner less than a minute into OT. Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist.
"It was a real important goal for him," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said of Tarasenko. "I thought he really played well in the second and third."
The victory began a stretch of four straight home games for the Blues. They'll also host Montreal and Anaheim over the weekend.
They may not have goaltender Ville Husso available for that stretch. He left Tuesday's game late in regulation after suffering a lower-body injury.
St. Louis is already depleted by injuries and league protocols. Forwards David Perron, James Neal, Klim Kostin and Robert Thomas sat out the win with assorted injuries. Goalie Jordan Binnington, defenseman Justin Faulk and forward Tyler Bozak are in COVID-19 protocol.
"We're playing some good hockey teams and competing and battling, staying alive, and had a good win (Tuesday)," forward Brandon Saad said. "I think the message is whoever's healthy, whoever's playing, keep competing and we're going to have success."
The Red Wings also have two players sidelined by league protocols -- first-line forward Tyler Bertuzzi and defenseman Marc Staal.
Detroit won its first matchup with St. Louis 4-2 on Nov. 24 as Larkin and Robby Fabbri each had a goal and an assist. Fabbri scored one of the two Red Wings' goals against Nashville.
