Blues at Predators
The St. Louis Blues gained at least a point in 23 of their first 31 games this season and are suddenly fighting for their lives in the playoff race as they visit the red-hot Nashville Predators on Sunday afternoon. The Blues have dropped five straight contests (0-4-1) while managing only seven goals in the stretch after suffering a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Winnipeg at home Friday.
“We’re fighting for a playoff spot, that’s the reality of it,” St. Louis captain Alex Pietrangelo told reporters. “There’s concern. We’ve got to find a way to win hockey games. We’ve got 20 games left.” The Blues are one point behind Anaheim for the second wild card in the Western Conference and 11 in back of Central Division leaders Winnipeg and Nashville, which comes in riding a three-game winning streak and boasting an 8-2-2 record in February. The Predators have posted 15 goals during their win streak, capped by a rousing 7-1 victory over San Jose on Thursday at home, where they are 21-7-3. “I think the last (few) weeks we’ve gotten points, we’ve gotten wins, but I think there’s just been periods and certain areas in the game that we’ve been playing really well,” Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm told reporters. “I thought (Thursday) we really showed what kind of damage this team can do. When everyone is playing like this it could be a fun stretch.”
TV: Noon ET, NBC, TVA
ABOUT THE BLUES (34-24-4): Many of the top offensive players have gone a little cold of late to put the playoffs in jeopardy and St. Louis has also allowed 17 goals during its losing streak. Brayden Schenn, who leads the team with 55 points, has just two to go along with a minus-4 rating in the last six contests while Pietrangelo is pointless in his past five outings with a minus-5. Vladimir Tarasenko has been a little more productive in the past four games with a goal and three assists, but the Blues have managed only four even-strength tallies in five games.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (37-14-9): Leading scorer P.K. Subban (team-high 48 points) missed the late portion of Thursday’s game reportedly because of a wrist injury and the defenseman is considered day-to-day. Forward Viktor Arvidsson has goals in three straight games and four overall in that stretch while defenseman Roman Josi boasts three consecutive two-point contests (one goal, five assists). Pekka Rinne became the 34th goaltender in NHL history to reach 300 wins Thursday and is in the running for the Vezina Trophy with a 31-9-4 mark and .927 save percentage.
OVERTIME
1. The Predators have won the first three meetings this season, including a 4-3 overtime triumph Feb. 13 in Nashville.
2. St. Louis RW Nikita Soshnikov, recently acquired from Toronto, was activated could make his Blues debut Sunday.
3. Nashville D Ryan Ellis owns a goal and eight assists in 12 games with a plus-10 rating in February.