The Blues open up a four-game homestand on Thursday and are coming into the game on a three-game winning streak. They outscored their opponents 16-4 over their last three games, and their leading scorer, Jordan Kyrou, has been red-hot with five goals over his previous three outings.
Quick Hits on the Competiton
- The Blues have been playing some of their best hockey of the season over the past month and have run off a 9-2-1 record over their previous dozen games.
- They averaged 2.93 goals for and against per game, having scored 202 and allowed 202 through 69 games this season.
- Kyrou is their leading goal-scorer with 29 goals.
- Colton Parayko is averaging 23:51 of ice time per game and is the leader of the defence corps. He brings size, strength, and a scoring touch. The 6’6”, right-shot defenceman has a career-high 15 goals this season.
- Jordan Binnington has made 45 starts between the pipes this season. He holds a 21-21-4 record with an .897% save percentage, a 2.81 goals-against average, and has three shutouts.
- Backup goaltender Joel Hofer has been excellent in his last two starts. He has allowed one goal in his previous two outings and has been the winning goaltender in two of the Blues’ last three games.
The Story: An Important Game
The focus on their next game was the most consistent thing said by the Canucks after their game against the Jets on Tuesday. Even after a dominant 6-2 win over the league’s top team, the group had already focused on the importance of Thursday night’s matchup with the Blues.
“After the Utah loss, like I said to you guys, we got to let it go. It’s the same thing here,” said Tocchet after Tuesday’s win. “This is great. Enjoy it for five minutes [but] we got to get back to the reality that we got to go into St Louis. I mean, that’s just the world we live in. You got to love the game for a while, and then you just got to get focused. It is no different if you lose a game; that’s how you got to do it nowadays.”
The Canucks picked up a win at Rogers Arena in the first matchup of the season between the two clubs, but the Blues took round two in their home barn. With how tight the standings are, each of these two teams knows how vital Thursday’s game is, and the intensity should be through the roof on Thursday.
Canucks’ Top Performers over the Last Five Games
Elias Pettersson: 3g-4a-7p
Pius Suter: 4g-1a-5p
Quinn Hughes: 2g-3a-5p
Nils Höglander: 1g-4a-5p
Filip Hronek: 1g-3a-4p
When and Where to Watch
Thursday’s game is a 4:30 p.m. PT start, and you can watch it on Sportsnet or listen along to the radio call with Brendan Batchelor on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network.
