Canucks at Blues
THE STORY: The Vancouver Canucks' road trip has been an up-and-down affair to date. They'll look to get back in the win column - and move above .500 for the season - as they visit the Blues in St. Louis on Friday night. As good as Vancouver looked in a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, the Canucks were downright abysmal two nights later in a 5-1 rout at the hands of the Minnesota Wild. The Blues return home following a 2-2-0 road swing, but are coming off consecutive losses to the Flames and Edmonton Oilers. They haven't played since last Sunday, and will be well rested against a Vancouver club playing its third game in four nights. Brian Elliott will likely start in goal for St. Louis as he continues his campaign to wrest the starting job away from Jaroslav Halak.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet West, Fox Sports Midwest
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (6-6-1): Whatever momentum Vancouver had built prior to the Minnesota game on Thursday was abruptly wiped out. The Canucks were never in contention, allowing the Wild to fire 45 shots at netminder Cory Schneider. "We gave them a lot of three-on-twos and two-on-ones and it wasn't close to being good enough," Henrik Sedin said after the game. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa was harsher, saying it was one of the worst games he had ever been a part of as a Canuck.
ABOUT THE BLUES (5-6-0): St. Louis may be off to a hum-drum start, but the team may have a legitimate excuse. The Blues have played just three home games so far this season, the fewest in the league. They'll face the Wild in Minnesota on Saturday before settling in for a five-game homestand that will keep them in their own beds until Nov. 22. "We haven't seen much except hotels and planes," forward David Backes says.
OVERTIME:
1. St. Louis earned a 3-0 victory in the first meeting between the clubs on Oct. 26. The teams have split their previous 10 encounters overall.
2. Special teams could be a major factor Friday night. The Canucks are eighth in the NHL in power-play efficiency and ninth in penalty killing, while the Blues rank last with the man advantage and 29th when shorthanded.