Blues at Sabres
The St. Louis Blues had a three-game winning streak snapped against one of the best teams in the Atlantic Division and now will try to rebound against one of the worst. After yielding their second-highest shot total of the season in a 3-1 loss at Boston, St. Louis wraps up a two-game road trip at the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
The Blues had permitted only two goals in winning three straight but were on their heels against the Bruins, getting outshot 46-33 to lose for the seventh time in their last 10 on the road (3-6-1). St. Louis has the perfect opponent to bounce back against -- the Blues have won 10 of their last 11 against the Sabres, including a 3-2 overtime win on Dec. 10. Buffalo went into the All-Star break riding an impressive three-game winning streak but has been outscored 7-3 in dropping back-to-back home games against New Jersey and Florida. "It's so frustrating when you don't win at home," Sabres forward Kyle Okposo said. "We've got to pick our game up."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), MSG-Buffalo
ABOUT THE BLUES (31-19-3): Jake Allen entered the season as the unquestioned No. 1 goaltender but he became a forgotten man as backup Carter Hutton went 8-1-1 since Dec. 30 and stopped 94 of 96 shots in his last three outings. Allen was back in net Thursday and excelled in defeat, turning aside 43 of 45 shots and possibly earning another start against Buffalo. "Going into the game, I felt confident in him," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "I hope that that's a game in his eyes that he can build off of."
ABOUT THE SABRES (14-28-9): Buffalo ranks last in the league in scoring, averaging 2.3 goals, but the power play has been producing over the past two weeks by converting on 9 of 25 chances in the last seven games. Coach Phil Housley lauded the play off rookie defenseman Casey Nelson, who registered a season-high five shots on goal in his seventh game of the season. "I think he moves the puck really well, he's defending really well, his gaps are really tight," Housley said. "That's why he remains in the lineup."
OVERTIME
1. Sabres F Johan Larsson was suspended two games Friday for cross-checking Florida's Vincent Trocheck.
2. Blues F Vladimir Tarasenko has torched Buffalo with five goals and 10 points in eight games.
3. Sabres C Ryan O'Reilly has five goals and five assists in his last 10 games.