TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues will get back in action with a four-game road trip that begins Wednesday at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The trip will continue in San Jose, Anaheim and Winnipeg.
"I think it's a really big road trip for us," said Blues forward Ivan Barbashev. "We've got four big games, especially right now when we've been winning a lot. (We) just have to continue the same way. I'm really looking forward to (the trip)."
The Blues enter Wednesday's game with a 6-1-0 record, which as of Tuesday ranked first in the Western Conference.
The team could get Brandon Saad back in the lineup for the first time since a 3-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 20. Saad missed four games while in COVID-19 protocol. The Blues will be without Ryan O'Reilly, Ville Husso and Kyle Clifford, as those players are currently on the non-roster protocol list.
"It's something we've said from the beginning of COVID," added Blues forward Robert Thomas. "We're a deep team, we've just got to focus on next man up. We've got the numbers and the team to be able to handle it."
KINGS The Los Angeles Kings have won two straight games entering Wednesday's matchup with the Blues.
The Kings most recently beat the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday when Anze Kopitar netted a goal and an assist and goalie Jonathan Quick made 22 saves for his first win of the season. Buffalo led 2-0 in the second period before Los Angeles scored three unanswered goals to win.
Kopitar leads the Kings significantly in points, posting 13 (seven goals, six assists) in nine games this season.
Los Angeles will be without defenseman Drew Doughty for two months after a knee-on-knee hit against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 22. Defenseman Sean Walker, who was injured on Oct. 25 in St. Louis, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
HEAD-TO-HEAD Wednesday's matchup is the final meeting of the regular season between the Blues and the Kings. St. Louis is 2-0 against Los Angeles this season and has outscored the Kings 10-3… David Perron has four goals against the Kings this season, while Torey Krug and Vladimir Tarasenko each have four points in the season series.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Vladimir Tarasenko is on a six-game point streak and has recorded multi-point efforts in three of his last four games. Tarasenko is one of nine players in the League with active point streaks of six or more games. His longest career point streak is 12 games, which he accomplished from Jan. 19-Feb. 17, 2019.
KINGS Alex Iafallo, who has recorded five points (three goals, two assists) in a three-game point streak for Los Angeles.
BLUE NOTES
David Perron is expected to play in his 614th game with the Blues on Wednesday, tying legend Barclay Plager for 11th on the team's all-time list. Bobby Plager currently ranks 10th with 616 games… Colton Parayko played 28 minutes and 31 seconds vs. Colorado last Thursday, the second-highest regular-season total of his career. His time-on-ice average is up more than two minutes from his previous career high (23:00) in the 2019-20 season… Jordan Binnington is 11-1-3 in his last 15 regular-season starts… Torey Krug has tied the best start to a season in his career with six points through his first seven games… Justin Faulk's next goal will be the 100th of his NHL career.
The Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues have become quite familiar with each other in a limited amount of time. They are scheduled to meet for the third time in 12 days on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
The Blues were the superior team in the first two meetings, both played in St. Louis, but the Kings are coming off a highly successful weekend.
St. Louis scored six consecutive goals after falling behind 1-0 against the Kings on Oct. 23 and eventually won 7-3. Two days later, they leaned on goalie Ville Husso, who made 34 saves in a 3-0 victory.
The Blues won't have the option of using Husso against the Kings, however. He was placed in COVID-19 protocol on Sunday, one of four St. Louis players on the list.
Jordan Binnington remains the clear No. 1 goalie for St. Louis and is coming off a 25-save shutout in a 1-0 win against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
The Blues head north after playing the Kings and are scheduled to visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. St. Louis coach Craig Berube didn't rule out starting Binnington in the back-to-back games.
Berube was also confident that forward Brayden Schenn would play after he left in the third period against the Blackhawks following a collision with the boards, then spent time in concussion protocol.
"He'll be good to go," Berube said of Schenn, a former first-round pick of the Kings who tied for third on the Blues in points last season.
Berube was also confident that forward Brandon Saad back would return against the Kings after missing four games while on the COVID-19 protocol list.
The Kings have boosted their confidence with two straight wins on the heels of a six-game losing streak.
Los Angeles knocked off the visiting Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Saturday, then overcame a one-goal deficit to start the third period the following day against the Buffalo Sabres and won 3-2 for their first two-game winning streak of the season.
"To do it coming from behind and to get the win, I think it means a lot to our group right now," Kings coach Todd McLellan said.
A hot player for the Kings has been forward Alex Iafallo, who has three goals in the past two games. He also scored the first goal in the first meeting against the Blues this season.
The hottest player for the Blues is forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who is riding a six-game point streak (four goals, five assists).
Tarasenko is one point behind Al MacInnis (452) for eighth on the team's all-time scoring list. He passed defenseman Alex Pietrangelo for ninth with an assist against the Blackhawks on Saturday.
Still, Berube said there are areas where the team can improve.
"I think we've got to do a better job, when there's confrontation in the offensive zone, defensive zone, is making the right play with the puck," Berube said. "Put (the puck) to an area where we can get it back. Just make a hard play in your own end and get it out."
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