The Blues are back at home, playing their second home game on this seven game home stand. They are set to play the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Blues are red hot.
Brian Elliott is back in goal for the Blues, while Cam Ward is expected to start for the Hurricanes.
In the last three games, the Blues have been putting the puck in the net, scoring 20 goals over the three game span. The power play has been clicking as well, scoring seven goals over the same three game span.
Alexander Steen (2), Jay Bouwmeester, Paul Stastny (2), Jori Lehtera, T.J. Oshie (4), Patrik Berglund, David Backes (5), Jaden Schwartz (2), Kevin Shattenkirk, and Dmitrij Jaskin have all scored over that time frame.
Surprising that a name like Vladimir Tarasenko hasn't scored in the last 20. He has picked up three assists though. You know he has to be frustrated. The kid loves to score goals, that's obvious. With all these goals going in, and he's not getting any of them, he's going to the player to stop tonight. He wants to find the score sheet, and he's usually not off the score sheet for long.
The Hurricanes, currently 29th in the league in points, are 4-5-1 in their last ten games, but have won three of their last four games. They are trending upwards. Two guys to watch tonight? Jordan Staal and Cam Ward.
Staal, who missed most of the season thus far due to a broken leg, has been back for five games, and has three assists on the year. He's looking for his first goal of the year, and now that he's getting back up to speed, he's going to be hungry to get his first goal of the year. In six career games against the Blues, Staal has one goal and two assists.
Cam Ward has had a strong season, despite the Hurricanes record. The 30 year old goalie holds an 11-16-2 record with one shutout. Despite a poor record, his 2.36 goals against average, and his .914 save percentage doesn't register with his record. Ward has struggled the last two seasons with injury and inconsistent play. That is looking more like a fluke compared to his actual record. Ward boast a 235-183-55 record in his career. He's a goalie that if you put a solid team in front of him, he's going to win games. If the Hurricanes can come out and play a solid game in front of Ward, he has a chance to steal them a game.
Coming into the game, the Blues are clearly the "favorite" pick to win this game, so lets hope they don't take these Hurricanes lightly. With Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner, and Justin Faulk on the Canes, they can answer if the other team doesn't show up.
Who wins? Who scores? Let me know in the comments below.