TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues scored a power-play goal but lost the special teams battle with the Dallas Stars on Saturday night at American Airlines Center. Dallas' Roope Hintz scored two shorthanded goals in the game, becoming the first player in Stars history to score two shorthanded goals in a single game since the team relocated to Dallas in the 1993-94 season.
The Blues eventually lost 4-1 on Saturday.
"Give them credit, they jumped on things, they were quick," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said of the Stars after the game. "It was a tight game all around. It was a tough game, there wasn't a lot of room, and they checked well. And they capitalized more than us on their chances."
"Obviously it's tough to win a hockey game when you (give up two shorthanded goals)," said Brandon Saad, who scored the lone goal for the Blues in the loss. "It's hard to explain. I think the execution (on the power play) could be a little sharper. Obviously, they capitalized on their chances but we can't be having that."
Jordan Binnington made 29 saves, while Brandon Saad scored for the Blues, who fell to 9-6-2 on the season.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS Trailing 2-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets after two periods, the Vegas Golden Knights rallied with goals from Reilly Smith and Mattias Janmark in the third period to earn a 3-2 win on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The Golden Knights, who got off to a slow start in the 2021-22 season, have now won five of their last six games and have climbed to fourth in the Pacific division.
Chandler Stephenson leads Vegas in points with 16 this season, collecting five goals and 11 assists. Jonathan Marchessault's nine goals lead the Golden Knights in that category.
HEAD TO HEAD The Blues beat the Golden Knights 3-1 in their first meeting of the season on Oct. 20 at T-Mobile Arena.
The Blues also were victorious in the last meeting between the teams at Enterprise Center (3-1, April 7, 2021).
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Ryan O'Reilly, who has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 17 career games against the Golden Knights.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS Alex Pietrangelo, who spent 12 seasons with the Blues and helped the team capture the Stanley Cup in 2019. Pietrangelo has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 18 games for Vegas this season, which is good for second in points amongst defensemen (1. Shea Theodore, 11).
BLUE NOTES
Robert Thomas has one goal and seven assists in his last six games and ranks eighth overall in the League with 14 assists this season… Pavel Buchnevich has recorded seven points in his last seven games (two goals, five assists)… Jordan Kyrou's six-game point streak came to an end in Saturday's loss to Dallas… Ivan Barbashev's next point will be his 100th in the NHL… David Perron has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 15 career games against Vegas… The Blues will hold their annual Hockey Fights Cancer game on Monday. Players will wear lavender Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys in warm-ups, fans will help #SpreadArisLight before the game and more.
The resilient Vegas Golden Knights will try to sustain their momentum Monday when they visit the St. Louis Blues.
Despite missing several key players due to injuries and the coronavirus, the Golden Knights capped a 5-1 homestand Saturday night by rallying past the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2.
"We're finding ways to win games," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "I can't wait until we're healthy and we can roll a full lineup out there. It's going to be on those guys coming in to jump in and continue with the foundation we're on right now."
Winger Max Pacioretty (foot injury) has resumed practicing and is nearing his return. But center William Karlsson (foot), winger Jonathan Marchessault (COVID), defenseman Shea Theodore (head), defenseman Alec Martinez (facial laceration), center Jack Eichel (neck surgery), winger William Carrier (COVID), and forward Nolan Patrick (undisclosed) are still sidelined.
"It was a super resilient effort the last few games," Golden Knights winger Reilly Smith said. "Every game there's something else happening, a little more adversity. For guys to come in and be able to contribute, it's the world for us right now."
Since starting the season 5-0-0, the Blues have fallen into a 4-6-1 funk. They have lost five of their last six games, with four of those losses coming in regulation time.
The Blues will be looking to clean up their special teams play after allowing two short-handed goals and a power-play goal Saturday night in a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars.
"Our power play is very good and we had some looks but still we gave up the other way and that makes it very tough to win," Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly said. "We know we're better than that, we know we have to be smarter than that and support each other better when there's a questionable puck or something but, yeah, it makes it tough to win when you put yourself in a situation like that."
The Blues became too casual with their playmaking against Dallas, so they know what to focus on against the Golden Knights.
"Just being sharper with the puck," winger Brandon Saad said. "A lot of times when they're going to be that aggressive, when you make a few good passes, you kind of break 'em down and then you get some good looks. So we had a couple looks like that, too. A couple shots, looks at the net, rebounds. It's just that execution right off the bat, just to kind of tire them out."
The Blues are almost back to full strength, with only forward Brayden Schenn (upper-body injury) missing.
In their previous meeting this season, the Blues defeated the Golden Knights 3-1 on Oct. 20. Vegas goaltender Robin Lehner (8-6-0, 2.87 goals-against average) stopped 35 of 37 shots in that game and will likely draw the Monday start after Laurent Brossoit started Saturday,
No. 1 Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (6-5-2, 2.85 GAA) has won just one of his seven November starts, so back-up Ville Husso could be due another opportunity.
