Considering the St. Louis Blues’ past triumphs over the Florida Panthers and their upcoming game against the Blackhawks
“To tell the truth, I was expecting that reaction,” remarked Drew Bannister, demonstrating his faith in his team. “That team there is full of character… Tonight, they got deep in there.”
After going scoreless in Tampa, the line of Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Pavel Buchnevich continued to be effective, scoring eight points to lead the team to a victory over the Eastern Conference champions on the road. Kyrou, Thomas, and Buchnevich have combined for 19 points in four games since the victory against Ottawa on December 14.
The Blues will play three games at Enterprise Center before the holiday break against division rivals Chicago, Dallas, and Colorado.
They are currently worth 33 points and sit sixth in the Central Division with a 16-15-1 record; they will be hosting Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks.
BLUE/HAWKS: Tuesday night at United Center, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 to end a four-game losing run. Midway through the first period, Colorado had a 2-1 lead thanks to back-to-back power-play goals, but Lukas Reichel of Chicago immediately leveled the score.
Tyler Johnson’s eighth goal of the season gave the Blackhawks the lead during an exciting third period that ultimately resulted in three players receiving misconduct penalties. With two more assists, Connor Bedard increased his lead atop the NHL rookie points standings.
Chicago had not triumphed over the Blues since December 9; they had previously suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of Washington, Edmonton, Seattle, and Vancouver. With seven points in that time, Bedard leads the squad. The rookie, who is 18 years old, has 28 points this season, 11 more than the next-highest scoring Blackhawk, Philipp Kurashev.
On Friday night, the Blackhawks start a back-to-back series by hosting the Canadiens, who are currently on a seven-game road trip, before heading to St. Louis for a single game.
Chicago, with a 10-20-1 record that puts them ninth in the Central Division and worth 21 points, will be hosting the Blues.
FROM HEAD TO HEAD: After two trips to Chicago, the Blues are playing their third of four games this season against the rival Blackhawks, with a record of 1-1-0.Since April 3, 2019, the Blues have beaten Chicago 11 times out of 15 games.
PARTICIPANTS TO VIEW
BLUES Pavel Buchnevich, who recovered from a difficult performance in Tampa to record his third three-point game of the year on Thursday. With 26 points this season, including a goal and two assists against Chicago on November 26, Buchnevich is second on the club.
Connor Bedard of the Blackhawks, who has 28 points in 31 games this season, leads all NHL rookies. The 2023 No. 1 overall choice is scoreless in his past two career meetings with the Blues, but he has scored seven points in his last five games.
BLUE NOTES
- The Blues are 6-1-1 in their previous eight home games against Chicago, including a six-game home victory
- streak from October 27, 2018, to December 29, 2022. The team lost their most recent home game against the Blackhawks.
- This season, the Blues are 14-1-0 when scoring first, which ties them for the third-most victories in the NHL.
- The Blues, who had a 12-0-0 start, were the only side in the league to have won all of their games this season when they scored first.
- Six Blues prospects Juraj Pekarcik (SVK), Otto Stenberg (SWE), Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (FIN), Dalibor Dvorsky (SVK), Jimmy Snuggerud (USA), and Jakub Stancl (CZE) are currently scheduled to compete for their nations in the 2024 World Junior Championship.
- In his last 15 games, Robert Thomas has scored 18 points, and in his last nine games, he has scored 12 points. With 30 points since November 1, Thomas is tied for sixth in the NHL during that time.
- Drew Bannister, the Blues’ interim head coach, has led the team to a 3-1-0 record. He is the fourth coach in franchise history to begin a tenure with back-to-back victories.