BLUESThe St. Louis Blues showed that they can hang with the best in the West on Sunday, falling in a tight battle to the No. 1-seeded Vegas Golden Knights.
The Blues tied the game early in the third and kept it close until a late empty-netter gave Vegas their conference-leading 41st win of the season.
"I think we did a lot of good things tonight - we were right in it until the end," said Robert Thomas. "Special teams was good, power play got a nice goal... We're a motivated group."
Jordan Kyrou followed up his hat trick from the day before with a goal and an assist and is now at a milestone 30 goals this season with 16 games still to play. Kyrou is 12 points shy of his career-best 75 points he set last season, currently at a point-per-game pace with 63 of each.
The Blues continue their March slate with a nationally-televised game against the division-rival Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night, heading out for a quick trip to Washington, D.C. on Friday.
They'll face the Wild with a record of 29-32-5, worth 63 points and sixth in the Central Division.
WILDThe Minnesota Wild have put together a strong run of games over the last month, using a 10-0-3 record since Feb. 17 to take firm grasp of a playoff spot. Their 17 points in their last 10 games and their active 13-game point streak are both No. 1 in the NHL.
Star Kirill Kaprizov leads the team in points this season, but on March 9 it was announced that he will miss 3-4 weeks with a lower-body injury. Kaprizov leads the wild in goals (39) and points (74), though Mats Zuccarello will look to step up in Kaprizov's absence.
Though the point streak stayed alive, the Wild fell in a disappointing overtime game in Arizona on Sunday night. Getting out to a 4-2 lead in the second period, Minnesota then saw two goals from Arizona's Clayton Keller to force overtime and take the loss at Mullett Arena.
The Wild made a number of acquisitions at the Trade Deadline, including adding defenseman John Klingberg and - most notably to Blues fans - acquiring Oskar Sundqvist from Detroit. Wednesday night's matchup in St. Louis will be Sundqvist's first time back in St. Louis since being traded to the Red Wings at the 2022 Trade Deadline.
The Wild will visit Enterprise Center with a record of 38-21-8, worth 84 points and second in the Central Division.
HEAD-TO-HEADThe Blues are 1-1-0 against Minnesota this season, winning their last matchup on Jan. 8 by a score of 3-0 thanks to a shutout by Thomas Greiss. In their last 12 games against the Wild, the Blues are 10-1-1 with a 56-34 goal differential.
