TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES After a four-game winless streak, the Blues have reeled off two statement wins against quality opponents.
It started Thursday against the New York Rangers, where a six-goal outburst led to a convincing 6-2 Blues' win at Enterprise Center. It continued Saturday in Nashville, where the Blues jumped out to a 3-0 lead, then gave it up, but turned up the pressure in the third period for an eventual 7-4 win against the Predators. Robert Thomas had four points (two goals, two assists) in the win, while David Perron scored two goals and Jordan Kyrou added three assists.
"This is a hard building to play in," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said of Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. "The fans are energetic, [the Predators] play hard. We knew it was going to be a close one, no matter how it started. Obviously, you don't want to lose a 3-0 lead, but we found a way to battle back and get two points."
The Blues will return home to host the division rival Winnipeg Jets on Sunday before getting a three-day break and hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
JETS The Winnipeg Jets dropped a 5-2 decision to the New York Islanders in their last outing on Friday at UBS Arena.
Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler scored for Winnipeg, while Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves, but it wasn't enough for a victory. Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz earned his 900th career win in the game.
The Jets have split the first two games of their three-game road trip, which ends Sunday in St. Louis.
Winnipeg is 26-23-10 this season (62 points), which ranks sixth in a tight Central Division.
Since Paul Maurice resigned as head coach in December, the Jets are 13-13-5 under Dave Lowry.
HEAD-TO-HEAD Sunday's game will be the fourth matchup between the Blues and Jets this season. The Jets lead the season series, 2-1.
The Blues are 4-4-0 overall in their last eight games against Winnipeg.
Against Central Division opponents, the Blues are 6-1-0 in their last seven games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Robert Thomas, who is coming off his first career four-point game in Nashville. Thomas has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his last 13 games. He leads the team in assists (36).
JETS Kyle Connor, who leads the Jets in goals (36) and points (66) this season. Connor is tied with Washington's Alexander Ovechkin for fourth in the League in goals.
BLUE NOTES
Vladimir Tarasenko recorded two assists Saturday, reaching 493 points as a Blue (237 goals, 256 assists) and tying the late Pavol Demitra for sixth in points in franchise history. Tarasenko is three points shy of tying Alexander Steen for fifth… Torey Krug recorded his 400th NHL point with an assist Thursday… The Blues share the League-lead with 15 wins when giving up the first goal of the game. That number surpasses their total from all of last season.
The St. Louis Blues will try to continue their recent offensive surge when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.
After scuffling through a four-game winless streak -- they went 0-3-1 with just seven goals -- the Blues scored 13 times while defeating the New York Rangers and the Nashville Predators.
"We want to start trending in the right direction for the playoffs here, so these are a good two games for us," Blues forward Jordan Kyrou said after the team's 7-4 victory Saturday in Nashville.
"Every game has been a little bit tighter, and we've stepped up to the challenge," Blues forward Robert Thomas said. "That's the most important thing."
Thomas (four goals, two assists), Kyrou (five assists), David Perron (three goals, one assist) and Brandon Saad (one goal, two assists) led the offensive charge in those two games. Before that, Thomas had just two points (one goal, one assist) in his previous six games.
"I'm starting to kind of get going again," Thomas said. "I didn't like that little stretch I had. Same thing goes for the team. We're starting to get back on track."
The Jets have gone 4-5-2 in their last 11 games while falling off the pace in the playoff chase. They sit in sixth place in the Central Division, six points back of the Vegas Golden Knights in the battle for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
They also are 13 points back of the Blues, who are in second place in the division.
Winnipeg will cap a three-game trip with this game at Enterprise Center, where the Blues are 20-7-2 this season. The Jets fell to the New York Islanders 5-2 Friday night.
"Yes, we just had two wins in a row, but we haven't had the best stretch, so everyone is frustrated," Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers said.
"We have to be disappointed with the result tonight," Jets coach Dave Lowry said after the Islanders game. "But we also have to now reset again and get ready to play another big game."
Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has allowed four or more goals in each of his last six starts. Despite Hellebuyck's struggles, defenseman Josh Morrissey said the Jets remain confident in him.
"This guy battles and competes on pucks," Morrissey said, "And I mean, a few years ago, you look back at it, we wouldn't have been able to be even close to getting into the play-in series that year if it wasn't for him, and last year as well. I understand that, when you're goaltender, you get that criticism and he puts more pressure on himself than any external source could, whether it's media or anything like that."
Still, backup goalie Eric Comrie (7-2-1, 2.34 goals-against average) could get the call against the Blues. He has won his last two starts.
The Blues likely will turn to goaltender Jordan Binnington (13-12-3, 3.08 GAA) after playing Ville Husso in Saturday's game in Nashville.
The Jets are 2-0-1 against the Blues this season.
