NASHVILLE,
Tenn. — Even with a seven-game winning streak on the line when the
St. Louis Blues (38-28-7) take on the Nashville Predators (27-36-8)
for the third time in 10 days at Bridgestone Arena (7 p.m.; FDSNMW,
ESPN 101.1-FM), the Blues continue to battle to hold on to the second
wild card in the Western Conference.
Despite
going 14-2-2 their past 18 games, taking 30 of a possible 34 points,
the good news is the Blues were able to make up the ground that they
faced but in saying that, one slip up could be dangerous.
The
Blues’ lead for the second wild card is three points over the
Vancouver Canucks, four over the Calgary Flames and eight over the
Utah Hockey Club.
But
the added caveat to all this is now they’re just two points behind
the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card.
But
the Blues are not as focused on other teams as they’re focused on
themselves, and that’s enabled them to be in the position they’re
in.
“Yeah,
100 percent,” said
Blues forward Dylan Holloway, who carries an eight-game point streak
(four goals, nine assists) into tonight’s game.
“We know it’s a tight race. The biggest thing is we’ve just got to
control what we can control. We can’t control other teams and their
outcomes, so the biggest thing for us is to just keep playing the way
we are. We know what works, so just keep going.”
Coming
out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Blues were solely focused on
trying to gain ground on the second wild card. Now with Minnesota
falling back to the pack, the first wild card is also in play.
“That’s
definitely the goal,” Holloway said. ‘We’ve got nine games left
and we’ve just got to go a game at a time. We can’t start thinking
about other teams and the outcomes of their games. We’ve just got to
focus one game at a time and try and get that two points every game.
If we go in with that mindset, we should be good.”
The
current winning streak has had a little bit of everything.
“I
think it’s just selfless, committed hockey to process the way we
believe we need to play in order to have success,” Blues coach Jim
Montgomery said. “Everyone’s playing well. Our top six are
scoring, they’re playing defense; our bottom six are scoring and
they’re hanging onto pucks and protecting pucks and our D-corps has
been really solid. And we’re missing two of our top players
(defenseman Colton Parayko and forward Pavel Buchnevich), and
goaltending. I didn’t like the last nine minutes of the second
(period on Tuesday). ‘Binner’ had to make four or five really
big-time saves, and he made them look easy.”
The Blues have outscored their opposition 34-10 during their winning streak and have scored four or more goals in each contest.
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It
will be the third matchup in 10 days between the Blues and Predators,
and the Blues have won matching 4-1 results, winning here in this
building March 18 and again at Enterprise Center last Sunday.
Each
game has had it’s share of nastiness to it, but each coach
downplayed that factor as something to keep an eye on tonight.
“Not
really because a lot of times when you expect it, nothing happens,”
Montgomery said. “We’re just focused on ourselves. We’re not
worried about stuff like that.
“We
know they play really hard, they’re a physical team, you’re going
to have to earn what you get. We haven’t had that many scoring
chances against them. They really are defending hard. We’ve just
got to stay with it, stay with our process, play to the goal line and
make sure we’re forechecking, reloading and back checking.”
Predators
coach Andrew Brunette added, “No, let’s just play hard, play in
their face. I thought we did a real good job in their building and we
didn’t get rewarded. Now we’re here back in here. When you play a
team three times in a week, there’s going to be a bit of a rivalry
going, a little intensity to the games. I expect that tonight.”
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Parayko skated again on Thursday but will miss his
11th
straight game after having his left knee scoped from an injury in a
3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on March 5.
Parayko
participated in the morning skate prior to a 6-1 win against the
Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday and again in Wednesday’s optional.
“There’s
a program he’s under and it starts with (head athletic trainer) Ray
Barile,” Montgomery said. “It started with him on the ice and now
it’s progressing to doing morning skates and doing extra stuff with
(assistant coach) Mike Weber.”
As
for Buchnevich, who has missed three games due to illness, he
did not accompany the team initially on its two-game trip that
concludes Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche, but Montgomery
said he believes the forward was flying in on Thursday afternoon to
meet the team for the remainder of the trip.
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Dalibor
Dvorsky, the No. 10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, will be a healthy
scratch again on Thursday after making his debut against the
Predators last Sunday, playing 10:49 with no points.
The
center has been gaining the necessary experience off the ice that the
Blues hope will help for a better transition for when he becomes more
of a regular on the ice.
“Every
day he can grow, he’s so young and learning just how to travel on
the road, what this building looks like, how do you get here,”
Montgomery said. “All those little things and then the extra work
he gets to do and the pace of our practices is really going to
benefit him.
“Very
inquisitive. He has a thirst for knowledge. It’s awesome.”
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Thursday
will be Radek Faksa’s 700th
NHL game.
The
center was the 13th
pick in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Dallas Stars and has carved out a
niche of how to play in the league, and this is his first season with
the Blues, qho acquired him from Dallas on July 2 for future
considerations.
“It’s
a big number, but compared to some guys in the dressing room, it’s
still nothing,” Faksa joked. “It doesn’t feel that special.
‘Sutes’, ‘Cammy’, ‘Leds’, ‘Schenner’ … yeah.”
Faksa,
who has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) and is a plus-1 in 61
games this season, follows Ryan Suter (1,500), Cam Fowler, Nick Leddy
and Brayden Schenn, all who either hit 1,000 games played this season
or last.
“When
you compare 1,500 and 700, it’s like nothing,” Faksa said, whose
first game was against Jaromir Jagr and the Florida Panthers.
“He
was my idol,” Faksa said. “I got to play against him the first
game. That’s why I remember the most. It’s a dream come true.
First game you will never forget.”
Linemate
Nathan Walker said, “Obviously
on the ice, you see what he does. And then off the ice, he’s a good
person, good family man. Him, Torpo and myself, we get along pretty
well and in the locker room as well. He’s a great dude and it’s a
great milestone. Obviously he can keep climbing and get more.”
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Blues
Projected Lineup:
Jake
Neighbours-Robert Thomas-Zack Bolduc
Dylan
Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou
Alexandre
Texier-Oskar Sundqvist-Mathieu Joseph
Alexey
Toropchenko-Radek Raksa-Nathan Walker
Cam
Fowler-Nick Leddy
Philip
Broberg-Justin Faulk
Ryan
Suter-Tyler Tucker
Joel
Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy
scratches include Matthew Kessel and Dalibor Dvorsky. Colton Parayko
(knee) and Pavel Buchnevich (illness) are out. Torey Krug (ankle) is
out for the season.
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Predators
Projected Lineup:
Filip
Forsberg-Ryan O’Reilly-Luke Evangelista
Michael Bunting-Steven
Stamkos-Jonathan Marchessault
Cole Smith-Fedor Svechkov-Colton
Sissons
Zachary L’Heureux-Michael
McCarron-Kieffer Bellows
Brady Skjei-Nick Blankenburg
Marc Del Gaizo-Justin Barron
Andreas Englund-Spencer Stastney
Juuse Saros will start in goal; Justus
Annunen will be the backup.
Healthy
scratches
include Jordan
Oesterle and
Jakub
Vrana. Jeremy Lauzon (lower body), Adam Wilsby (upper body) and
Roman
Josi (upper body) are
out.
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