BLUESThe St. Louis Blues are firing on all cylinders, doing everything they need to in order to set themselves up for a successful Playoff run.
On Friday, the Blues withstood a third-period rally to defeat the Minnestoa Wild in overtime, their second overtime win against the Wild in eight days, and clinched a Playoff spot for the 45th time in franchise history.
The Blues immediately left Enterprise Center and flew to Nashville to complete the back-to-back set, taking on the Predators in another Central Division showdown. What followed in Nashville was historic.
The game quickly changed in the second period, when the Blues delivered a franchise-record seven goals in the period to break a 1-1 game wide open. Five different skaters got in on the action - Calle Rosen scored his first two goals as a Blue, Jordan Kyrou looked to reignite his game with his own pair of goals, plus Brayden Schenn, Vladimir Tarasenko and Nathan Walker left their marks.
"We know that we have a really deep offensive group, so it's honestly not that surprising," Kyrou said. "Every line can play, every line can score goals and do the right thing - it's obviously huge (now), and it's definitely going to be huge in the Playoffs."
The dominant 8-3 win in Nashville kept a multitude of impressive streaks alive, just the latest showing from
the Blues' high-powered offense
this seaon.
Hosting the Bruins for the first time since defeating them in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final - and donning the iconic new Winter Classic sweaters - the Blues are looking to stay red-hot and solidify their Playoff seeding. Currently holding a one-point advantage over Minnesota, the Blues would have home-ice advantage in their first-round series if the season ended today.
The Blues bring home a record of 46-20-10, good for 102 points as they look to keep up their electric stretch of play. After Tuesday night's game, the team will set out on a four-game road trip out West to take on the Sharks, Coyotes, Ducks and Avalanche before the regular season finale at Enterprise Center against the Golden Knights.
BRUINSSince the Boston Bruins hosted St. Louis last week, they finished their homestand by splitting a pair of tight games. The club dropped a game to the Ottawa Senators - their third straight loss - before beating Pittsburgh and clinching their spot in the Playoffs.
Saturday's win over the Penguins was a close 2-1 battle, with Boston only needing a pair of first-period goals to come out on top. Rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves on 24 shots to secure the win, starting all three games on the homestand.
Star forward David Pastrnak and Trade Deadline acquisition Hampus Lindholm continue to miss time with injury. Both skaters have now been sidelined for five and six games, respectively. The Bruins will surely hope for their returns as soon as possible, relying on their production to be at their best for the postseason.
Their matchup in St. Louis is the first in a two-game road trip, concluding with a rematch against the Penguins on Thursday night. The Bruins' remaining schedule brings a fair set of challenges, seeing five Playoff teams in their last seven games.
With all eight Eastern Conference Playoff teams clinched, only the matchups remain to be determined as a number of tight-seeding battles play out. As of Monday afternoon, Boston holds a three-point advantage over Washington for the top Wild Card Spot, and trails Tampa Bay by three points in the Atlantic Division standings.
The Bruins bring a record of 46-24-5 to Enterprise Center, worth 97 points and slotting them into a matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round if the Playoffs began on Monday.
HEAD-TO-HEADThe Blues got the better of the Bruins last week in Boston, driven to a 4-2 win on two goals from Tarasenko. The Bruins have not visited St. Louis since winning Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 9, 2019.
The Blues are 4-2-0 in their last six games against the Bruins at Enterprise Center.
