Preview: Blues at Senators

When: Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App

QUICK HITS

BLUES The St. Louis Blues (5-4-0) are looking ahead to Tuesday night’s game after coming off a tough 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

The Canadiens struck first, scoring midway through the opening period and again just 1:12 into the second for a 2-0 lead. Soon after, Colton Parayko found the back of the net for the first time this season to put the Blues on the board and Jake Neighbours tied the game with his fourth of the season. But the Canadiens finished the game with three unanswered goals to earn the win.

After the game, Head Coach Drew Bannister was vocal about his team’s performance.

“I mean, it’s not a good game,” Bannister said. “I thought in the first period we just weren’t executing, didn’t allow ourselves to work, and then got ourselves in trouble and we started to chase the game. And when we got ourselves back in the game, we took penalties to let them back in the game.”

The Blues finish the Canadian leg of their road trip in Ottawa before wrapping up the four-game slate in Philadelphia on Thursday against the Flyers.

SENATORS The Ottawa Senators (4-4-0) lost a one-goal game to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.

The Senators were down 2-0 entering the third period, where a scorying frenzy began with two Senators goals to tie the game. Minutes later, though, the Avalanche tallied two more before a retaliation goal from the Senators to cut the lead to one with three minutes left to play. Both teams scored once more in the game's final 75 seconds, ending the game with a 5-4 final.

During the offseason, the Senators turned to Head Coach Travis Green to lead the team. Green took the job in May after serving as the interim head coach of the New Jersey Devils since March. On the ice, the Senators acquired defenseman Nick Jensen and a draft pick from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Jakob Chychrun.

Last season, the Senators finished in 14^th place in the Eastern Conference with a 37-41-4 record. The team has missed the playoffs the past seven seasons.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Defenseman Colton Parayko scored his first goal of the season in Saturday’s loss to the Canadiens. Over the last four games, Parayko has earned three points (one goal, two assists). In his tenth season in the Blue Note, Parayko has logged 264 career points (202 assists, 62 goals).

SENATORS Claude Giroux had two late goals in Sunday night’s loss to the Avalanche. Giroux currently has nine points on the season (five goals, four assists). Last season, Giroux skated in all 82 games for the Senators and finished in fourth place in points on the team with 64 (21 goals, 43 assists).

BLUE NOTES

• The Blues are 9-3-0 in their last 12 games against Ottawa.
• Mathieu Joseph will not be available for his return to Ottawa after sustaining a lower-body injury late in the game against the Montreal Canadiens. Joseph will miss the remainder of the road trip.
• Neighbours has scored in back-to-back games and has five points in his last five games (four goals, one assist). He leads the Blues with four goals.
• Jordan Kyrou has three assists in his last three games. Kyrou leads the Blues with nine points (two goals, seven assists) this season.
• The Blues are one of six teams in the NHL this season with at least two wins (2-3-0) when trailing after the first period (1. Seattle, 3).