Let's Go Blues

The St. Louis Blues and Arizona Coyotes will meet for the eighth and final matchup in the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Gila River Arena.

The teams haven't played since Feb. 15 when they completed a set of seven consecutive games due to scheduling quirks related to COVID-19 postponements.

The Blues are 3-3-1 against the Coyotes through seven meetings this season.

Saturday's matchup will carry some weight - the Blues (19-17-6, 44 points) have a one-point edge on the Coyotes (19-20-5, 43 points) in a battle for the final playoff spot in the West Division. The Coyotes have played two more games, though, and have lost five straight entering Saturday's matchup.

THE SERIES SO FAR
Feb. 2: Blues 4, Coyotes 3
Justin Faulk scored what could stand as the goal of the year when he danced through the offensive zone and slid the puck five-hole past goalie Darcy Kuemper. Mike Hoffman, Vince Dunn and Ryan O'Reilly also scored and Jordan Binnington made 32 saves to extend the Blues' winning streak for four games.

Feb. 4: Coyotes 4, Blues 3
The Arizona Coyotes had a 3-0 lead before Mike Hoffman finally scored for St. Louis with less than four minutes to go in regulation. The Blues would get another goal from Hoffman and one from Ryan O'Reilly in a late rally, which ultimately fell short. Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta made 40 saves in Arizona's first road win of the season.

Feb. 6: Coyotes 3, Blues 1
Jakob Chychrun scored two goals, Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves in a 3-1 win for the Arizona Coyotes. It was the first time this season the Blues lost two straight. Robert Thomas scored the Blues' only goal before leaving in the first period with a broken thumb.

Feb. 8: Coyotes 4, Blues 3 (SO)
The Blues were one second away from securing two points at home against the Coyotes, but Chesterfield native Clayton Keller scored the latest game-tying goal in Arizona / Winnipeg history. Ryan O'Reilly scored two goals in regulation, but the Coyotes won their third straight against the Blues.

Feb. 12: Blues 4, Coyotes 1
Justin Faulk scored early in the first period and again in the third to help the Blues snap a three-game losing streak to the Coyotes. Ivan Barbashev and Brayden Schenn added empty-net goals in the game - the first of the season at Gila River Arena.

Feb. 13: Blues 5, Coyotes 4 (OT)
Mike Hoffman scored his first overtime winner as member of the Blues when he beat Antti Raanta 1:49 into overtime to help St. Louis to a 5-4 win. Kyle Clifford, Zach Sanford, Ivan Barbashev and Jordan Kyrou also scored for the Blues, while Ville Husso made 32 saves. The victory evened the season series between the teams at 3-3.

Feb. 15: Coyotes 1, Blues 0
Clayton Keller scored the game's only goal in the second period and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves to give the Coyotes a 1-0 win against the Blues in the seventh game between the clubs. Jordan Binnington made 18 saves in the game, which wrapped up a set of seven straight between the teams due to COVID-19 schedule maneuvering. It was the first time in NHL history that two teams have played each other seven consecutive times in a regular season.

The Coyotes sit just one point behind the Blues and below the playoff cut-off line, but things aren’t trending in a positive direction for the club. Arizona has lost five consecutive games, with its season hanging in the balance if it can’t right the ship.

The Coyotes’ analytical profile is nothing to write home about. They sit 22nd in expected-goal rate with a 47.2% mark. They’re also 25th in both shot attempt rate and HDC percentage. Arizona is in the bottom third of the league in both expected-goals scored per hour at 5-on-5 and expected-goals against.

Offense doesn’t come easy for the Coyotes, as they rank 23rd in goals per game. The team lacks a true game-changing superstar. Players like Phil Kessel, Conor Garland, Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller are solid players, but they don’t match up to the elite talent most teams possess. Arizona also has just four goals combined in their last three games.

In the past, the Coyotes have been a team that did a good job of slowing the opposition down and limiting opponents’ chances. However, that hasn’t been the case this season. Arizona has given up the eighth-most goals in its league. Jacob Chycrun has developed into a force offensively, but the usual shutdown style of the Coyotes hasn’t been on display this season.

A lot of the reason for that has been the goaltending. Darcy Kuemper has played just one complete game since Feb. 22, and he just suffered another setback. In his place, the duo of Adin Hill and Antti Raanta have combined for a GSAx mark of -5.9. Arizona doesn’t have the offensive capability to overcome subpar goaltending, and it’s been asked to do that a lot this season.

Many view the Blues as potential sleeping giants, who are just coasting through the regular season getting ready to turn it up in the playoffs. Part of the reason the Blues have looked mediocre is because they’ve dealt with a fair share of injuries to important players. Players such as Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko have missed extended time. Outside of Robert Thomas, the Blues should be healthy for this contest.

Offensively, the Blues have been led by David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly, who are both producing near a point-per-game pace. Vladimir Tarasenko has six points in his last eight games, as he begins to settle into the season after missing the first few months.

A positive note for St. Louis lately has been the play of goaltender Jordan Binnington. Binnington leads all goalies in the month of April with a goals saved above expectation (GSAx) mark of +5.31. Binnington is a cult hero among Blues fans for his role in their magical Stanley Cup run in 2019, and the team needs that version of him down the stretch.

St. Louis should be in the playoffs when all is said and done, and with its tough schedule down the stretch, that means it needs to stockpile wins against some of the lesser teams like Arizona.

The Blues have more elite talent, deeper forward group, better team defense and a goaltender currently playing very well. Arizona, which has lost five consecutive games, is spiraling at a bad time.