When: Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
Tickets: Online at ticketmaster.com
QUICK HITS
BLUES On Thursday the St. Louis Blues (28-26-6) defeated the Eastern Conference's top team, the Washington Capitals, in a 5-2 victory, extending their win streak to three games for the first time this season.
February was a commanding month for the Blues as they posted a 5-1-2 record in eight games. The Blues are also riding a five-game point streak, earning nine out of a possible ten points during this stretch. In these past five matches, they've been perfect on the penalty kill, going eight-for-eight. Overall, they’ve scored the fourth-most goals in the NHL during the month of February with 29.
Following Thursday's game, Head Coach Jim Montgomery expressed joy in maintaining the team’s winning momentum.
“It feels good,” Montgomery said. “But most importantly, it’s the way we’re doing it. We’re in control of games right now and these three wins and we've got keep it up, we've got stay with the process.”
Three of the Blues’ five goals against the Capitals belonged to defensemen, with Philip Broberg netting two and Colton Parayko adding a tally. The Blues defense is responsible for 34 goals this season, accounting for 20.1 percent of the team’s total, which is the highest percentage in the NHL.
Robert Thomas extended his point streak to eight games on Thursday (four goals, eight assists) with an assist on Parayko’s goal. Thomas' eight-game assist streak is a career high, making him just the 10th player in franchise history to achieve the feat.
Thursday also marked Brayden Schenn’s 1,000th NHL game, a milestone night in which he secured two assists. Schenn became the 403rd player in league history to reach that mark. In 1,000 career games, the captain has recorded 671 points (272 goals, 399 assists).
The Blues will make a pit stop at home on Saturday to face the Los Angeles Kings for the first time this season before heading back on the road. Saturday's matchup will be the first of three between the teams over the next week.
KINGS The Los Angeles Kings (31-18-8) will take on the Blues in their second half of back-to-back games, following a 6-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Friday.
The Kings struggled with their special teams units against the Stars, surrendering two power-play goals and a shorthanded tally. Despite coming into Friday’s match ranked eighth overall in the NHL with an 81.8 percent penalty kill, the Kings were unable to keep the momentum going in Dallas.
In the offseason the Kings traded Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Washington Capitals in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper. He has started in 32 games for the Kings this season, posting a 18-7-6 overall record and a 4-1-0 record in his last five starts.
The Kings have made the playoffs the past three seasons, most recently falling to the Edmonton Oilers in five games in the first round. Currently the Kings hold the third spot in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference with 70 points.
