Let's Go Blues

TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES After one of the best defensive performances of the season - allowing just 16 shots on goal from the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday - the St. Louis Blues followed it up with another strong defensive effort by limiting Ottawa to just 20 shots on goal in Tuesday's 5-2 win. Those two games are now the lowest and second-lowest games for shots against this season.

Third lowest? The Dec. 11 win over the Montreal Canadiens, where the Blues saw 23 shots on goal en route to a 4-1 win at Enterprise Center. The Blues would certainly hope to continue this run of strong defensive play in their rematch with the Canadiens on Thursday.

Tuesday's 5-2 victory in Ottawa was highlighted by an elite performance from the foward line of Pavel Buchnevich, Vladimir Tarasenko and Robert Thomas. The trio kept the puck moving all night, making sensational passes and finishing scoring chances to come away with three points each.

"The Thomas line was excellent tonight," said Blues Head Coach Craig Berube. "Puck possession was excellent, they were strong on it. They competed on the puck, they kept it and hung onto it - it's not always open space, they had to compete for it."

Thursday's game in Montreal will be the Blues' second of three straight against Atlantic Division opponents, following it up with a matchup in Toronto on Saturday. While the Senators and Canadiens rank low in the NHL standings, the Blues know as well as anyone that there are no easy nights in the League and will need to bring their A-game.

Taking the train into Montreal with a record of 28-14-5, the Blues' 61 points sit third in the Central Division as of Wednesday afternoon. The team has now surpassed last season's win total - in nine fewer games - with GM Doug Armstrong also earning his 500th win with the Blues on Tuesday.

CANADIENS The Montreal Canadiens enter Thursday's matchup on a 10-game losing streak - eight in a row in regulation - and will be trying to avoid a winless eight-game homestand when they host the Blues.

This season has been a struggle for the Habs, whose multitude of injuries and COVID-19 absences have strongly hindered their ability to build consistency and win hockey games.

Their most recent game was a 5-3 loss to Buffalo, driven by a hat trick from Sabres forward Jeff Skinner. Montreal had goals from Jeff Petry, Joel Arima and former Blue Mike Hoffman.

It was their third game under new head coach Martin St. Louis, who was hired to replace Dominique Ducharme last week and is still looking for his first career win behind the bench. The Montreal native and Hockey Hall of Famer won the Stanley Cup, Hart Trophy as League MVP and Art Ross Trophy as the scoring leader during the 2003-04 season for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The franchise certainly hopes that St. Louis can be a culture setter and begin to turn things around. They enter Thursday's game with a record of 8-33-7, good for 23 points and eighth place in the Atlantic Division.

HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues defeated Montreal 4-1 at Enterprise Center on Dec. 11 in their only matchup this season during Charlie Lindgren's stellar stretch between the pipes. Thursday's game in Montreal will wrap up the season series.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Vladimir Tarasenko, who led the way in Ottawa with two goals and an assist. In his last five games, Tarasenko has four goals and two assists, now leading the team with 44 points on the season.

CANADIENS Nick Suzuki has been a bright spot for the Canadiens this season. The 22-year-old forward leads the team with 28 points and was selected as the team's representative at All-Star Weekend earlier this month.

BLUE NOTES
The Blues are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games against Montreal... Brayden Schenn leads the team with 16 points since Jan. 1 - Schenn had 10 points from the beginning of the season through Dec. 31... The Blues have the best road power play in the League, converting on 29.3 percent of the opportunities... Ville Husso's 11 wins this season have more than doubled his career total (nine in 2020-21).

The St. Louis Blues ride an offensive surge into Thursday night's game against the reeling Canadiens in Montreal.

The Blues have scored 14 goals in their past three games. They won their past two outings, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at home Saturday and handling the Ottawa Senators 5-1 Tuesday on the road.

The forward line of Robert Thomas centering Vladimir Tarasenko and Pavel Buchnevich led the charge in Ottawa. Tarasenko had two goals and an assist, Thomas had a goal and two assists and Buchnevich had three assists.

"We've played before together and we've had some success," Tarasenko said. "We just try to play hockey and enjoy our time on the ice. I think this is always very important when you're working hard and creating some chances. I thought we played well today, but I'm pretty sure we can play better."

Tarasenko came into the season as a major question mark as he continued his comeback from another shoulder surgery. He requested a trade during the offseason, but Blues general manager Doug Armstrong opted to hang onto him.

That proved to be a good call, since Tarasenko has produced 18 goals and 26 assists in 43 games this season.

"He's all over the ice," Thomas said. "He's playing the right way defensively. He's in on the forecheck, he's always open. He's a superstar, and when he plays like that, it's tough for teams to defend."

The Canadiens come into this game with a 10-game winless streak (0-8-2). They have won just once since Dec. 16 and they are 8-33-7 overall.

Montreal just traded former 30-goal scorer Tyler Toffoli to Calgary and more swaps are likely ahead of the March 21 trade deadline as the franchise embarks on a long-haul rebuild.

Former NHL star Martin St. Louis has taken over on the bench. He is gaining some on-the-job training in his first professional coaching job.

"I've learned how to prepare myself and how to prepare for the different scenarios that happen in a game, just to be prepared for the unexpected," St. Louis said. "I can say that the game has already slowed down for me on the bench, which is very encouraging, and I think it's going to keep slowing down. At first, it looked very fast, so I'm encouraged."

But the Canadiens have lost their first three games since St. Louis replaced Dominique Ducharme.

"He's been bringing new ideas, I'm not going to name them, but I think we've been doing a good job of trying to apply it," forward Nick Suzuki said. "As a team we've been better, we've worked hard, just the results haven't been there."

Injuries have made this coaching job even more difficult. The Canadiens have been missing forwards Jonathan Drouin (wrist) and Mathieu Perreault (lower body), goaltenders Carey Price (lower body) and Jake Allen (lower body) and defensemen Joel Edmundson (lower back) and Ben Chiarot (lower body) with various ailments.

The Blues have been playing without injured defensemen Marco Scandella (lower body) and Scott Perunovich (upper body).