TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues are facing as much adversity as they've seen in years with their losing streak reaching eight games on Tuesday night in Philadephia.
"There's no question that guys are working - it's not always good enough," Ryan O'Reilly said candidly after the game. "I know for myself, it's not good enough... It's frustrating."
The Blues have a great opportunity, however, on Thursday to begin righting the ship. The San Jose Sharks, whom the Blues host for a one-game homestand, are No. 29 in the NHL point standings as of Wednesday afternoon.
Facing another team low in the standings will be crucial for the Blues, as their short-term schedule does not do them any favors. There are no easy nights in the League, but the Blues face two strong Western Conference contenders on the road in Vegas and Colorado following Thursday's game.
Head Coach Craig Berube notes: "You gotta play real good hockey to get out of this, and you gotta do it together."
SHARKS The San Jose Sharks have caught some unlucky bounces as of late, losing a series of close games last week. Falling twice to the Anaheim Ducks and once to the Florida Panthers, all three games ended in shootout losses for San Jose.
With two of their three wins also coming after the regulation buzzer, the Sharks already have a wide breadth of experience playing close games this season.
Veteran defenseman Brent Burns' departure to the Carolina Hurricanes via trade this offseason has proven difficult, but the Sharks hope that more blue line touches for Erik Karlsson and a new Head Coach in David Quinn can get San Jose back towards Playoff contention.
25-year-old forward Timo Meier, who broke out last season for career highs in goals (35), assists (41) and points (76), is looking continue his development and turn the tide on some of these recent close losses.
The Sharks bring a 3-8-3 record to Enterprise Center, their first of a four-game road trip after six in a row at home.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues got the better of the Sharks last season, going a perfect 3-0-0 with a 12-5 total goal differential. Since defeating San Jose in the 2019 Western Conference Final, the Blues are 10-1-2 against the Sharks.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Brandon Saad, who saw two of his best games as a Blue against the Sharks last season. Saad scored four goals across three games vs. San Jose last season, his most against any opponent.
SHARKS Erik Karlsson, leading the Sharks in points this season. One of the League's best blue liners, the two-time Norris Trophy winner has 19 points and currently leads all NHL defensemen.
BLUE NOTES
Thursday's game celebrates Salute to Military Night, with several initiatives planned to honor our nation's veterans... Nikita Alexandrov, called up from the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday, could make his NHL debut on Thursday... Niko Mikkola is expected to dress for his 100th career NHL game.
The reeling St. Louis Blues are desperately searching for the way out of their worst slump in franchise history.
After winning their first three games this season, the Blues have suffered a team-record eight straight regulation losses ahead of their home game against the San Jose Sharks Thursday at Enterprise Center.
Opponents have outscored them 38-12 during that downturn. They led the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 midway through the second period on Oct. 29 -- but since then opponents have outscored the Blues 24-6.
St. Louis is averaging an NHL-worst 2.09 goals scored per game. The Blues entered Wednesday with the fifth-worst penalty-killing rate (70.8 percent) in the league as goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Thomas Greiss have combined for the fourth-most goals allowed per game (3.91).
"It's not just one thing," Blues coach Craig Berube told reporters after his team lost 5-1 in Philadelphia Tuesday. "I think it's a combination of things. You gotta play real good hockey to get out of this, and you gotta do it together and you gotta be competitive. Highly competitive.
"When things aren't going right, it's easy to not be as competitive, and right now I think that's where we're at."
Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that mounting frustration has been dragging the team down.
"It seems like every puck, every 50-50 puck, it's bouncing (the other) way," said O'Reilly, who has just two goals, no assists and a minus-12 plus-minus rating through 11 games. "It's frustrating. It's definitely a massive issue.
"No question, I think guys are working. But it's not always good enough. For myself, it's not good enough. Trying to work, I'm not there for my teammates. My timing's terrible ... I'm supposed to lead this team, and I'm not doing nearly enough. I know (it's) other guys, too. There's a lot more that needs to be done. I don't have an answer for you now. I know what I'm doing isn't working."
The Sharks will come to town with a four-game winless streak, albeit with three consecutive shootout loss points earned during that span.
"It's very disheartening because of the result," Sharks coach David Quinn said after his team's 5-4 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. "We continue to feel like we're going in the right direction, but we shoot ourselves in the foot, and we did again today."
San Jose went 1-2-3 on its recent six-game homestand before heading to St. Louis to start a four-game road trip.
"It doesn't matter how you lose, it's really tough," Sharks center Tomas Hertl told NHL.com after the Ducks loss. "It seems like every mistake went in our net. It's really tough because all of these home games have been so close against all of the teams that we played, and we have just a couple of points."
On the plus side, Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson has enjoyed an offensive resurgence with 10 goals and nine assists in 14 games. Hertl has a goal and six assists in his last four games and winger Timo Meier has five goals and four assists in his last five games.
