Rangers at Blues
Losses in 10 of their last 13 contests (3-8-2) have sent the struggling St. Louis Blues to the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture. The Blues look to put a halt to the skid and complete a two-game season sweep of the New York Rangers on Saturday when the clubs meet at Scottrade Center.
"Obviously we're going to need some help, but we have to do our part and get the wins," said St. Louis center Brayden Schenn, who scored in St. Louis' 3-1 victory over New York on Oct. 10 and was well on pace to shatter his career-high goal and point totals before falling into a slump following the All-Star break. The 26-year-old has just three tallies in that stretch to remain two goals and one point shy of his personal-best totals (26, 59), set in 2015-16 with Philadelphia. The Blues' 25th-ranked offense and 30th-ranked power play aren't helping the cause and will face a Rangers club that is 5-2-2 in its last nine. Alexandar Georgiev posted his third straight win following a 37-save performance in Thursday's 4-3 versus Pittsburgh, highlighted by stopping Evgeni Malkin on a penalty shot with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (32-32-7): Mika Zibanejad capped a two-goal performance by scoring in overtime versus the Penguins, marking his 100th career NHL goal while setting personal bests this season in tallies (22), power-play goals (11) and power-play points (18). The 24-year-old Swede also scored in the October clash versus St. Louis and has recorded at least a point in seven of eight career games against the Blues. Fellow forward Chris Kreider is showing signs of returning to form after being sidelined due to a blood clot in his right arm, highlighted by his four-point performance (one goal, three assists) versus Pittsburgh.
ABOUT THE BLUES (37-28-5): Jaden Schwartz has been held off the scoresheet in back-to-back contests to remain one point shy of posting his fourth career 50-point campaign. The 25-year-old scored and set up a goal in the first encounter against New York and has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last six versus the club. Fellow forward Vladimir Tarasenko has seven points (four goals, three assists) in nine career outings against the Rangers, although he has been held off the scoresheet in six of his last nine games overall.
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis boasts an 18-9-1 mark against Eastern Conference representatives this season, including an 8-4-1 record versus Metropolitan Division foes.
2. New York RW Kevin Hayes will play in his 300th career NHL game on Saturday.
3. The Blues are 0-for-12 on the power play in their last six games.