GDT #53: Blues @ Rangers | 6:30 pm CT | TNT, 101 ESPN
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2022 7:45 am
TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues are playing some of their best hockey of the season right now, winning four straight and recording points in seven straight games. As their schedule got a little lighter in the last two weeks, their effort and intensity did not waver.
Since they dropped an overtime loss to the then-NHL-worst Canadiens - who went on to win their next three in a row - the Blues have been firing on all cylinders. Winning in dominant fashion over the Maple Leafs, Flyers, Sabres and Blackhawks, they averaged nearly five goals per game and less than two against.
On Sunday, the Blues' 4-0 victory in Chicago was their second shutout of the rival Blackhawks this year, both thanks to Jordan Binnington in net. As Binnington looks to build steam after a difficult stretch, he's stopped 55 of 56 shots on goal over his last two starts.
David Perron added two goals Saturday, bringing his season total to 11 and becoming the eighth Blue to reach double digits this year. Last season's 56 games only saw six Blues get to ten or more goals.
"It's really important to have depth," said Blues Head Coach Craig Berube. "That's how we're built and that's how we have to play, and we need everybody to be a part of it."
The Blues' offensive depth will face a major test on Wednesday against New York when they go against an elite goaltender in the Rangers' Igor Shesterkin.
With Pavel Buchnevich facing his former team for the first time since being traded to St. Louis this offseason, the Blues have all the motivation they need to put on a big show in the Big Apple.
The Blues will enter Wednesday's matchup with a record of 32-14-6, good for 70 points and second in the Central Division as they try to pull away from Minnesota and Nashville.
RANGERS The New York Rangers have had a successful season after missing the playoffs in 2020-21. An 11-0-1 run in November and December gave them a tremendous boost early on, seeing their record reach 17-4-3 and matching the League's top mark at the time.
Since then, they've played to a record of 16-11-2, a more-or-less League average pace. Coming off of back-to-back losses against the Penguins and Canucks, the Rangers will look to find more of what made them click in the early goings of the season.
The Rangers have some high-end talent driving the majority of the team's points thus far. Forwards Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider are all among the League's best, with 23-year-old Adam Fox on a tear from the blue line.
Kreider currently ranks third in the League in goals, with his 34 on the season just three shy of Auston Matthews for the lead. Panarin and Zibanejad both place in the Top 20 total point scorers, with 56 and 54 respectively. Fox's 50 points are fourth-most among defensemen.
Sammy Blais, the 25-year-old forward sent to New York in the Buchnevich trade, will unfortunately miss his reunion with the Blues due to an ACL tear suffered early this season. Blais has played just 14 games for the Rangers, recording four assists.
New York hosts the Blues on Wednesday with a record of 33-15-5, worth 71 points and third place in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues and Rangers have not faced off since March 3, 2020, when the Blues won 3-1 in New York. The teams are an even 5-5-0 in their last 10 matchups.
The season series will finish soon after Wednesday's game, with the Rangers visiting St. Louis on March 10.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Pavel Buchnevich, in his return to New York City. The 26-year-old forward has had an outstanding season since arriving in St. Louis, recording 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points, just two shy of his career high. In five years with the Rangers, Buchnevich scored 195 points in 301 games played.
RANGERS Igor Shesterkin has been one of the top goalies in the NHL this season. The 26-year-old has a record of 25-6-3 and leads the League in both save-percentage (1.95) and goals-against average (.941).
BLUE NOTES
The Blues rank fourth overall wth 400 points from forwards this season... The Blues rank third in the League with 41 power-play goals, while ranking 22nd in total power-play minutes... Robert Bortuzzo is set to play his 350th game as a Blue... Ville Husso and Jordan Binnington have combined for 1.86 goals-against average over the seven-game point streak (6-0-1 record).
While Pavel Buchnevich makes his return to New York for the surging St. Louis Blues, the Rangers are focused on avoiding a third straight loss Wednesday night.
The Rangers traded Buchnevich last July to save some salary cap space before he became a restricted free agent. In return, they got cost-controlled Sammy Blais and a second-round draft pick in a trade wildly unpopular with Rangers fans. Buchnevich was dealt after playing for five seasons in New York and last season scoring a career-best 48 points.
Buchnevich immediately signed a four-year contract with the Blues and has 46 points in his 46 games with St. Louis.
"Playing with him was a lot of fun," Rangers veteran Mika Zibanejad told reporters at practice Tuesday. "A lot of good memories, a lot of laughs. It's going to be good to see him."
What has not been good for the Rangers is a lack of offense of late. Ryan Strome and Alexis Lafreniere scored third-period goals in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
Sunday's loss followed a 1-0 setback Saturday in Pittsburgh to cap a frustrating weekend when the Rangers totaled 60 shots on goal, went 0-for-5 on the power play and saw 31 shots get blocked.
Since returning from a two-week break, the Rangers are 3-2-1 in six games and have scored two or fewer goals in five of those games. Chris Kreider took eight shots on goal Sunday and has scored once since the break while Artemi Panarin has scored once since the break.
"We've got to try to produce more," Strome said. "I think there's a bunch of guys that are maybe gripping the stick a bit tight. We're still in a lot of hockey games and we're playing good hockey as a team, I think. But obviously to score goals is what we've got to do."
While Blais is out for the season with a torn ACL sustained back in November, Buchnevich is having a career season. His 46 points are tied for second on the team with Vladimir Tarasenko and three behind Jordan Kyrou, who scored during a 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blues started their four-game trip by extending their winning streak to four games, one behind their season-high five-game run to start the season. St. Louis has scored 19 times during the streak, with Buchnevich tallying three of those goals. He scored the second goal in a three-goal second period Sunday to earn him the team's postgame "hard hat" from Brayden Schenn, who also dubbed Buchnevich "The Mayor of New York."
Sunday's win also gave St. Louis a point in seven straight games (6-0-1) since a 7-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 10. The Blues have scored 31 times in that span and notched at least three goals in nine of their past 12 contests.
"I think that we can keep getting better," St. Louis left wing David Perron said. "We have a long ways to go. As we get to those tighter games as we've been talking about the last couple weeks, I still think we can get better, a lot better."
The teams are meeting for the first time since Jordan Binnington made 25 saves in a 3-1 Blues win on March 3, 2020. They meet again in St. Louis on March 10.
