Let's Go Blues

TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES Faced with two new injury absences to top-line forwards, the St. Louis Blues stepped up to the moment on Tuesday night in Toronto. Trading blows with the NHL's No. 4-seeded team, the Blues played an aggressive game, withstood a strong push in overtime and took the second point in a four-round shootout.

"It's a 'next man up' mentality," said Brandon Saad. "We're missing players, but we're focused on our group and what we can do here. That was a big character win for us tonight."

Saad and the special teams units executed to near perfection, scoring on both of their power plays and breaking even on the penalty kill with a shorthanded goal - Saad's second in his last 11 games.

Ontario natives Jordan Kyrou and Josh Leivo (former Maple Leaf) added goals to the winning effort, and Brayden Schenn's tenacity was on full display with a team-high eight hits, two points and the deciding shootout goal.

The Blues will see if they can keep up their momentum on Thursday in New Jersey, hoping to beat a Devils team going through some adversity after starting as one of the NHL's best teams.

They'll head to New Jersey with a record of 18-17-3, worth 39 points and fifth place in the Central Division.

DEVILS One of the biggest early-season stories in the NHL this season, the New Jersey Devils burst onto the scene with a 13-game win streak and Leaue-best 21-4-1 record before a recent slide.

Since Dec. 9, the Devils are 3-7-2. They were Top-5 in both goals scored and allowed up to that point, but have dropped to the bottom 10 in both during the rough patch.

On New Year's Day, the Devils fell in a shootout to the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes, though they did manage to bounce back Wednesday night with a 5-1 win in Detroit.

Three young stars have been the key drivers for the Devils' breakout year, with 21-year-old Jack Hughes leading the way. Hughes' 22 goals and 44 points lead the team, followed closely by 24-year-olds Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier.

The Devils will face the Blues with a record of 24-11-3, worth 51 points and second place in the Metropolitan Division.

HEAD-TO-HEAD Thursday night will be the first matchup between the Blues and Devils this season after the Blues went 0-1-1 in last year's season series. From Jan. 28, 2014 to Feb. 18, 2020, the Blues won 12 games in a row against New Jersey before going 0-2-1 in their last three matchups.



PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Brayden Schenn, who recorded two points and the shootout winner in Toronto on Tuesday night. Schenn reached a career-high 11 shots on goal in last week's win over Chicago, and has 20 points in 35 career games against the Devils.

DEVILS Jack Hughes, one of just 10 players in the NHL with at least 20 goals and assists as of Wednesday afternoon. Hughes amassed six goals and 12 assists during New Jersey's 13-game win streak earlier this year and tallied his first career hat trick on Nov. 26 against the Capitals.



BLUE NOTES
The Blues' 12-game win streak against New Jersey shares the longest win streak against a single opponent in franchise history. Previous 12-game matchup win streaks include 12 wins vs. Arizona from Jan. 14, 2014 - Nov. 9, 2017 and 12 wins vs. Vancouver from Jan. 23, 1997 - Feb. 3, 2000... The Blues' 15 points since Dec. 11 share No. 5 in the NHL... Including two power-play goals on Tuesday in Toronto, the Blues' 33.3 percent power play shares No. 2 in the League since Dec. 16... The Blues are now four wins shy of 2,000 in franchise history, set to become the eighth team and second non-Original Six team in NHL history to reach the milestone.

The banged-up St. Louis Blues are off to a positive start in 2023.

Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils might be in the process of rebounding from a rough December.

On Thursday night in Newark, N.J., the Blues look to win back-to-back games for the first time in more than two weeks when they face the Devils, who have gone even longer without consecutive victories.

St. Louis concluded 2022 amid a 1-2-2 rut but opened the 2023 calendar year with a 6-5 shootout victory at Toronto on Tuesday. The Blues failed to hold a two-goal lead against the Maple Leafs but scored three times in the shootout to record their first road win since Dec. 19 at Vancouver.

The triumph over the Canucks concluded the Blues' four-game winning streak, marking St. Louis' last consecutive victories. The Blues are trying to get by without injured key contributors Ryan O'Reilly (foot), Vladimir Tarasenko (hand) and Torey Krug (lower body).

"Guys stepped up, and that's what we need to do looking forward," said Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, who has eight goals and seven assists in his past eight games. "We just have to focus on what we have in the room right now and what we can do to step up and win. We just have to work and compete."

Though the Blues enjoyed a solid offensive night at Toronto, they have yielded five goals in five of the past six games. St. Louis ranks near the bottom of the NHL with an average of 3.66 goals allowed.

St. Louis' Jordan Binnington stopped just 20 of the 25 shots he faced on Tuesday, and he has a 3.65 goals-against average in his past five starts, well above his season mark of 3.21. Backup Thomas Greiss, who last started on Dec. 20, has allowed fewer than four goals just twice in his nine starts this season.

The Blues have dropped their past three meetings with New Jersey, which is 2-0-1 following a 1-7-1 rut during a roughly three-week stretch of December. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Dougie Hamilton and Alexander Holtz each had a goal with an assist as the Devils rolled to a 5-1 road win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.

"Guys stepped up, and that's what good teams do," said Hischier, who has scored a goal in four straight games. "It's important we got the two points, and we're already looking forward to (Thursday)."

Though New Jersey is second in the Metropolitan Division, it hasn't won consecutive games since Dec. 3 and Dec. 6. The Devils, though, have scored at least four goals in each of the past three games after doing so twice in the previous 12 contests.

With 22 goals, Hughes is four shy of matching his career high from last season. He has four during a three-game goal streak, but none in three career games vs. St. Louis. Hamilton, meanwhile, has three goals and 14 assists in his past 13 contests.

After New Jersey's Vitek Vanecek (2.31 GAA) stopped 32 shots on Wednesday for his second straight win, Mackenzie Blackwood, who yielded four goals each time while losing his past two outings, could start in the back-to-back scenario.

Kyrou had a goal and an assist during the Blues' 3-2 overtime loss at New Jersey last March. Teammate Brandon Saad, who has three goals in the past three games, was blanked the past three times he opposed the Devils.