TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES After a thrilling game at Enterprise Center ended in a shootout loss to the Penguins, the St. Louis Blues will set off for Columbus on Saturday to take on the Blue Jackets.
Ivan Barbashev and David Perron scored Thursday for the Blues, keeping Perron's goal streak alive. He's now scored at least one goal in each of his last five games, with two coming in Saturday's road win against Nashville.
Thursday's loss was another tough result coming after regulation time expired. The Blues are now 3-9 in games that need extra time, with a 1-6 record in overtime periods and 2-3 in shootouts.
Despite the loss, Ville Husso delivered a stellar performance between the pipes. His 43 saves were the second-highest mark of his career behind a 48-save performance in another shootout loss earlier this year vs. Florida.
Saturday's matchup with the Blue Jackets will be the Blues' final game before the Trade Deadline. GM Doug Armstrong has until Monday, March 21 at 2 p.m. to make trades and elevate the team's championship odds.
Executives and scouts around the NHL will be closely watching games from every team this weekend, evaluating rosters and players in their own efforts to improve their teams.
The Blues continue to hold second place in the Central Division, moving to 34-17-9 and 77 points on the season.
BLUE JACKETS While the Columbus Blue Jackets' overall record has been inconsistent, they have played some high-quality games against the League's top teams.
Despite currently sitting outside the Eastern Conference Playoff picture, they've recorded wins against Stanley Cup contending teams like the Hurricanes, Panthers, Maple Leafs and two over the Colorado Avalanche.
Recently, the club bounced back from four straight losses to win three in a row, but will enter Saturday's bout with the Blues off of a big loss at home to the Washington Capitals.
Alex Ovechkin recorded his 768th career goal as the Capitals won 7-2, continuing his climb up the all-time leaderboards.
Columbus saw goals from their two leading point scorers, Patrik Laine and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Both forwards sit at 46 points on the season, in 43 and 60 games played, respectively.
Last weekend, Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner was placed on the injured reserve list due to a lingering back issue. Jenner has 23 goals and 21 assists on the season, including a goal in their Nov. 27 loss in St. Louis.
Saturday will also mark the Blue Jackets' final game before the Trade Deadline, after which they will begin a three-game road trip in Pittsburgh.
They'll host the Blues with a record of 31-28-3, good for 65 points and fifth place in the Metropolitan Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues left little in doubt when they faced the Blue Jackets earlier this season, winning 6-3 at Enterprise Center.
The Blues are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games against Columbus.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Brandon Saad, who recorded an assist on Thursday with a delicate pass to Barbashev through the goal crease. Saad has four points in his last four games as he continues his first season in St. Louis.
BLUE JACKETS Defenseman Zach Werenski is on pace for a career year in his sixth season in Columbus. Werenski has 40 points in 56 games this season, including five in his last four games.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues are 2-0-1 in their last three trips to Columbus... Perron shares seventh in the League with seven goals in the month of March... Among the 72 players to play in the NHL this season from the 2017 Draft Class, Robert Thomas ranks second with 36 assists (1. Cale Makar, 45) and ranks third with 48 points (1. Makar, 66).
Game Preview
The Columbus Blue Jackets will try to resume their playoff chase when the host the St. Louis Blues Saturday.
The Blue Jackets entered Friday sitting in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. They suffered a 7-2 loss to the fourth-place Washington Capitals Thursday to fall 13 points out of the Eastern Conference's last wild-card playoff spot.
Prior to that defeat, Columbus won three straight games and earned points in six of their previous eight games (4-2-2).
Their effort against the Capitals was not as bad as the score indicated. They accidently scored twice into their own net and also allowed an empty-net goal.
"It was not our night. I can tell you that," Columbus coach Brad Larsen said. "A 7-2 game, you're thinking that is disaster, but our guys gave it their all tonight. It was a strange game. Score twice on yourselves, it's going to be tough to win that way."
The Blues are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at home to the Pittsburgh Penguins. St. Louis has hit a 2-3-3 lull in its last eight games.
They were fortunate to get a point against the Penguins while getting outshot 45-25.
"We'll take any points we can get, but at the same time, that wasn't our best effort," Blues forward Brandon Saad said. "It's good to get a point, but it's something we need to correct."
Until the third period, the Blues were unable to sustain much forechecking pressure.
"I felt like we were too slow in the neutral zone," Blues winger David Perron said. "We know what to do, it's pretty simple, but when we refuse to do it, it looks slow and we don't get in on our forecheck, and at this time of the year I just don't believe that you can win playing that way. So we're going to have to look at it, talk about it and rectify it. ... It felt like we lacked energy. That was disappointing for sure."
The Blues got winger Pavel Buchnevich (concussion protocol) back against the Penguins and they hope Robert Thomas (non-COVID illness) can return for this game.
Blues coach Craig Berube has been alternating Ville Husso and Jordan Binnington in goal, but he might turn to Husso again after his 43-save performance against Pittsburgh.
The Blue Jackets lost their earlier meeting with the Blues, 6-3 on Nov. 27 in St. Louis. Defenseman Adam Boqvist had two goals and an assist for Columbus in that game.
But Boqvist (upper body) has been on Columbus injury list, along with forwards Boone Jenner (back injury) and Alexandre Texier (personal leave).
Columbus is almost certain to start Elvis Merzlikins in goal for this game. He drew eight of the team's previous 10 starts.
Joonas Korpisalo got the start in the net Thursday in the second of back-to-back games for the Blue Jackets, and lasted just 21:20 before getting pulled.
"I can't even blame him," Larsen said. "I'm changing the goalie because I can't use a timeout right there. I want to save it until the end, but I'm not putting the blame on him. He had some tough breaks there."
