Panthers at Blues
The St. Louis Blues owned the best record in the Western Conference a month ago but they have hit a rough patch as they prepare to play their final game before going into their bye week. St. Louis has dropped two straight and nine of its last 14 (5-8-1) but will be seeking its fourth consecutive home win versus the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Coach Mike Yeo was pleased with the "response from the players" in Sunday's overtime loss at Washington after they were doubled up in Philadelphia the previous day. “Just getting that point after being down was big for us,” said forward Paul Stastny, who won 17 of 24 faceoffs against the Capitals. The Panthers had a similar mindset after losing in a shootout at Columbus to fall to 0-2-1 entering the final stop of their road trip. "We've got to be happy with one point, but of course we want to win the games," center Aleksander Barkov said. "We're playing good hockey, but we're not getting two points. We need to find a way to get those two points."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Florida, FS Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (17-18-6): James Reimer has started 14 consecutive games since Roberto Luongo was injured on Dec. 4 and it appears he will continue to take on a heavy workload. Coach Bob Boughner said Luongo is not expected to play until February after he started to feel soreness during his rehab last week. The outlook is better on forward Radim Vrbata, who has missed the last five games, but Boughner planned to talk to him to gauge his availability for Tuesday.
ABOUT THE BLUES (26-16-3): Third-leading scorer Jaden Schwartz, out since taking a puck off the foot on Dec. 9, shed his walking boot Monday but is still expected to be sidelined for at least two more weeks. Vladimir Tarasenko is picking up the offensive slack with three goals and six points over the past six games. "He seems to have not only elevated his game but the way that Barby’s (Ivan Barbashev) playing right now, I think Vlady has a lot to do with that, too," Yeo said.
OVERTIME
1. Blues backup G Carter Hutton has started four of the past five in place of Jake Allen, who was in net in a 5-2 loss to Florida on Oct. 12.
2. Panthers F Jonathan Huberdeau has scored six goals in his last seven games.
3. St. Louis activated Vince Dunn off injured reserve and sent fellow D Jake Walman to Chicago of the American Hockey League.