St. Louis Blues (45-21-7) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (40-22-10) @ 6 p.m. CST on FS-MW.
Season Series: The Blues and Pens met in St. Louis on February 21st and Pittsburgh took the game 4-2. The Blues got behind early and could never catch back up. This is the last meeting between these clubs this season.
The Blues are wrapping up a season long six game road trip tonight. They are 2-1-2 so far but have lost the last three. Sunday, the Wings topped the Blues on a controversial broken stick OT goal by Justin Abdelkader. He broke his stick on Jake Allen’s leg pads while jamming away for the loose puck. His stick was clearly broken as he scored the goal. I can’t believe that is not a reviewable play. I do agree that at full speed it would be hard for the referees to spot, but all goals should be reviewed, especially since it potentially cost a team a point that could be crucial over the next few weeks. It happened and I am over it and onto tonight’s game. The team still has to score more than one goal to expect to win these games. The officials were horrible for both sides, the puck luck was still not with the Blues.
Jake Allen will start his second consecutive game for the Blues. He had a solid performance on Sunday. The goal he gave up, he admittedly said that he thought the play would be blown down after the puck hit Chris Butler in the face and didn’t react quickly enough. His play is heading the right way. Carl Gunnarsson could return to the lineup tonight after nursing an upper body injury.
The Penguins come into tonight’s game winners on Saturday in Arizona. They had lost the previous four games before the game Saturday. Injuries haven’t helped this team of late and they have really struggled. Evgeni Malkin could return tonight after missing four games. Patric Hornquist is doubtful to play. Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to make the start in goal. This game marks the return of Marcel Goc and Robert Bortuzzo to Pittsburgh. Ian Cole and Maxim Lapierre will play for the first time against the Blues since being traded.
Keys to the Game: The Blues transition game was much better on Sunday in Detroit. The Blues had much better puck management all game, only turning it over once in the game. This will need to continue tonight to keep the puck out of the Pens hands. They have some elite talent and good young players and the Blues will not want to get in to a track meet. Crashing the net and fighting for second chance opportunities is how the Blues are going to have to play to get out of this scoring funk. Let’s see some first period Blues goals tonight.
Players to Watch: Blues: Robert Bortuzzo—I expect some fierce physical play against his former club tonight. Jake Allen—goalie competition is exactly what this team needs right now. Alex Steen—is he out of his cold streak with some goals in the last few?
Penguins: Sydney Crosby—never scored a goal on the Blues. Let’s keep it that way. Evgeni Malkin—if he plays, he will be a threat. Will he get involved with Backes again? And Turtle again? David Perron—you know he wants to beat us badly for shipping him to the Oilers.