Preview: Blues vs. Sharks

When: Saturday, March 30 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO
Watch: Bally Sports Midwest Extra, Bally Sports app
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
Tickets: Online at Ticketmaster.com

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUES When it comes to points in the NHL, they don't ask how, they ask how many. That was the case for the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, pulling out a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames.

Facing a Flames team that entered Thursday with four straight losses, the Blues had a chance to respond with a statement win after losing to Vegas in overtime Monday. Instead, the Blues got a seesaw battle with a 3-3 tie after 40 minutes.

"We just didn't look very sharp," Head Coach Drew Bannister said. "Physically sharp, mentally sharp, to me it just didn't seem like were were on our game there (Thursday)."

Two separate times, Calgary scored a goal that would have either tied the game or given the Flames the lead, but both were called back by the officials. According to Jake Neighbours, that gave the Blues the wake-up call they needed.

"Obviously we came out on the right side of it with a lead," he said about the reviews, "and we knew from that point on we had to wake up, play the right way and hold that lead."

The Blues began to pull away with a go-ahead goal from Brandon Saad 2:04 into the third. The goal was Saad's sixth game-winner of the season, the most on the Blues.

"We're playing confident as a group," Saad said, "and I'm obviouisly playing with some good players here. I'm getting the opportunities, and it's nice to finish them."

Four Blues had multi-point games Thursday: Neighbours, Pavel Buchnevich, Torey Krug and Jordan Binnington. With two assists, Binnington became just the second goalie in Blues history with multiple points in a game, joining Curtis Joseph. Binnington is also the first goalie with two points in a game since Adin Hill in 2021.

Vegas now holds the third seed in the Pacific Division, so the Blues (39-30-4) are chasing a new team: the Los Angeles Kings. The Blues are only five points back of LA, which is 6-4-0 in its last 10, for the Wild Card. Meanwhile, the Blues have points in eight of their last nine games.

Including Saturday, St. Louis has two more contests in its four-game homestand. After San Jose, the Blues host the Oilers on Monday night.

SHARKS It's a new era in the Bay Area. After parting with veterans Timo Meier, Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl within the last year, the San Jose Sharks have fully committed to the rebuild, stockpiling draft picks and prospects. 

In the meantime, however, it's been tough sledding (or swimming?) for the Sharks. They're 2-16-3 since the All-Star break, and they've lost nine straight. Their last win was March 9 against Ottawa. Last time out, they lost 3-1 to the Wild in Minnesota.

On paper, there aren't many positives to glean from San Jose's season. They average both the fewest shots for (25.6) and most shots against per game (35.0). 

However, anything is possible in the NHL. When the Blues and Sharks met on Nov. 16, San Jose delivered a 5-1 beatdown at SAP Center, including two goals from ex-Blue Mike Hoffman. The Blues never even got on the scoreboard until 13:55 in the third period. 

The Sharks enter Saturday's game with a 16-48-8 record and the fewest points in the NHL (40).

HEAD TO HEAD This is the second meeting between the Blues and Sharks this season. The Sharks took the first matchup 5-1, but the Blues can still take the season series when they visit San Jose next Saturday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Zack Bolduc has been finding his stride in the NHL. The 21-year-old scored his second NHL goal Thursday and now has four points since his call up from Springfield.

SHARKS Mikael Granlund scored the Sharks' only goal against the Wild. Granlund leads the Sharks in both points (49) and assists (38) this season.

BLUE NOTES

• The Blues' next win will guarantee a winning season for the 15th time in the past 16 seasons.
• With the Blues' win Thursday, Doug Armstrong passed Bobby Clarke for 10th on the NHL’s all-time wins list among General Managers with 807 wins.
• Since March 27, 2018 - 21 games - the Blues are 15-3-3 against San Jose.
• In their last 10 home games against San Jose, the Blues are 8-1-1.
• The Blues are 8-1-1 in Saturday home games this season.
• The Blues have scored at least three goals in seven of their last eight games against San Jose, outscoring the Sharks 33-20 over those eight games.
• Since March 11, the Blues have seven wins and 15 points, ranking second in both to only the New York Rangers (eight wins, 16 points).