TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES It was a thrilling night at Enterprise Center last time the St. Louis Blues took on the Chicago Blackhawks at home. The Blues came out on top in the Oct. 30 matchup, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from Torey Krug with 13 minutes left in regulation.
The Blues will need that type of energy in the clutch again on Saturday, looking to bounce back from a disappointing 7-4 loss to New Jersey on Thursday night.
Taking a 3-2 lead into the third period, the Blues lost some of their composure and gave up five goals - two empty-netters - in the third as the game slipped away.
"We can't let that happen," said Brayden Schenn of the blown lead. "There's too many chances we give up, we're not tight enough defensively to close the game out. Obviously way too loose, and that's what happens. Teams are good, players are good with a lot of skill, and they're gonna find ways to score if you're not gonna tighten up defensively."
Schenn had two goals in the loss, bringing his season total to 12 alongside his 11 assists in 29 games played. Klim Kostin and Justin Faulk also added goals, with Krug recording two assists.
After Saturday's matchup, the team will hit the road for a four-game trip, which includes stops in Ottawa, Montreal and Philadelphia. The trip will provide a good chance for the Blues to regain their footing and build some road momentum as the second half of the year gets underway.
The Blues go into Saturday's game with a record of 26-14-5, worth 57 points and fourth place in the Central Division.
BLACKHAWKS The Chicago Blackhawks will arrive at Enterprise Center fresh off a road win against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
Coming out on top 4-1, Wednesday night's win ended a three-game skid for Chicago and an eight-game stretch with a record of 1-5-2.
The Oilers parted ways with Head Coach Dave Tippett on Thursday morning following the game, announcing Jay Woodcroft as the team's head coach for the rest of the season.
Forward Alex DeBrincat, the Blackhawks' representative at All-Star Weekend, led the way with three points. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury had an outstanding night between the pipes, making 40 saves in the winning effort.
"I think we came ready to play," said DeBrincat. "Played simple right off the bat, got it in deep and went to work."
The matchup on Saturday will be the second in a three-game road trip for the Blackhawks, who will travel to Winnipeg on Monday before a six-game homestand.
Chicago is currently in seventh place in the Central Division, with a record of 17-23-7 on the season.
HEAD-TO-HEAD Both games between the Blues and the Blackhawks this season were tight battles. After their regulation victory on Oct. 30, the Blues fell 3-2 in overtime in Chicago on Nov. 26 for a 1-0-1 matchup record.
The teams will wrap up their season series with another game in Chicago on Feb. 27.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Brayden Schenn has been red hot since his return from injury, recording 11 of his 23 points on the season over his last six games. The 30-year-old forward has 18 career points in 22 games against Chicago.
BLACKHAWKS Alex DeBrincat, whose three points in Edmonton brought his total to 39 on the season. DeBrincat leads the team by a wide margin with 27 goals on the season, and scored the OT winner in the last matchup with St. Louis.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues are 5-0-2 against the Blackhawks in their last seven games, winning five straight before the Nov. 26 OT loss... At the time of the Blues' schedule break (Jan. 29), the Blues and Florida Panthers were the only teams to feature at least five different players with 15 or more goals this season (Jordan Kyrou, Vladimir Tarasenko, Brandon Saad, Pavel Buchnevich, Ivan Barbashev) - The Blues only had four 15-goal scorers last season, all different from this year's bunch (Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron, Mike Hoffman, Schenn)... Ville Husso leads all goaltenders (min. 10 games) with a .941 SV% this season. At home (7-1-0), his 1.80 goals-against average and .941 save-percentage both rank second among all goaltenders (minimum five games).
The St. Louis Blues will try to regain their home-ice edge when they host the Central Division-rival Chicago Blackhawks Saturday.
Prior to losing their last two games at Enterprise Center, the Blues had gone 14-1-1 in their prior 16 games at home.
Then the Blues lost their defensive edge on their own ice while losing to Winnipeg 4-1 before the All-Star break and 7-4 to New Jersey coming out of the break.
Blues forward Brayden Schenn scored two goals in the latter game, giving him seven in seven games. But he noted that checking breakdowns led to the defeat.
"You can't make a play offensively all the time," Schenn said. "Early on, getting our legs underneath us, we were fighting it. Maybe a little bit of a layoff. But as the game progressed, I think we've just got to make a commitment to chipping it in, grinding it in, wearing teams down and it's going to win you hockey games in the long run. Not trying to go run-and-gun with teams. We know we can't play that way."
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks came flying out of the break with a 4-1 road victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Alex DeBrincat led the charge with a goal and two assists and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 40 saves.
"I think the time away just rejuvenates you and gets you excited to come back and play a real game," DeBrincat said. "I think we had a lot of guys play really well today and had that jump and hopefully we can keep it going."
Blues coach Craig Berube hoped to get Jordan Binnington back on track against the Devils, but the slumping goaltender allowed five goals while giving up a 3-2 third-period lead.
Binnington is 3-5-0 with a goals-against average of 4.52 and a save percentage of .872 since coming out of COVID-19 protocol in December.
"That's on us in front of him to tighten up," Schenn said. "Not even tonight, in general with our goalies, we're just giving up too many chances for them. We know we can be better in front of him and we're not worried about Binner. Binner's our guy. He's our No. 1 and we're not worried about Binner. He'll find his game and he'll be huge for us down the stretch."
In the meantime, Berube is likely to go back to Ville Husso, who was 6-1-0 last month with a 1.37 GAA and .956 save percentage. "We'll play that by ear," Berube said. "I'm not gonna make that decision now."
The Blackhawks were 1-5-2 in their eight games prior to their victory at Edmonton. To build on that breakthrough, interim Chicago coach Derek King said, the staff has to "make sure we're very direct with our players about how we need to start on time and how crucial it is for us to be ready to play."
Chicago has split its two games with the Blues this season, losing 1-0 in St. Louis on Oct. 30 and winning 3-2 in overtime at home on Nov. 26.
