Blue Jackets at Blues
THE STORY: The struggling Columbus Blue Jackets begin a three-game road trip Sunday against the division-rival Blues in St. Louis. The Jackets, losers of two straight and 3-6-1 in their last 10, sit firmly in the basement of the Central Division with a league-low 22 points. Columbus has just 73 goals on the season, 28th in the NHL. Surprisingly, the Blues have only scored three more goals to date - but that's where the similarities end. St. Louis, 4-0-1 in its last five and 7-1-2 in its last 10, is challenging for the division lead with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. David Backes scored the winner for St. Louis in the first meeting between the teams in Columbus.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS-O (HD), FS-MW (HD)
ABOUT THE BLUES (18-9-4): St. Louis had its four game win streak snapped Saturday with a 2-1 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. T.J. Oshie scored the lone goal, his 10th on the season. Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves in the loss, and may make way for Brian Elliott on Sunday. Elliott leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.43) and save percentage (.948) and is tied for the shutout lead with four. The journeyman goaltender, 13-2-1 on the season, has won nine of his last 10 starts. His goaltending has helped overshadow a St. Louis power play that ranks last in the NHL at 11.1 percent. Following Sunday's game, St. Louis will a pair of road games prior to a short Christmas break.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (9-19-4): Columbus fell 3-2 Saturday at home to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vinny Prospal had two assists against his former team, while Rick Nash scored his 10th goal of the season. Nash is a team worst minus-16 on the season. Jeff Carter had an assist but saw his four-game goal scoring streak stopped. Columbus also struggles with the man advantage, sitting near the bottom of the league at 76 per cent.
OVERTIME:
1. With an assist on Saturday, St. Louis forward David Perron extended his scoring streak to three games. He has two goals and three assists in his last six.
2. Former St. Louis Blues forward Keith Tkachuk was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Dec. 11. Tkachuk collected 538 goals and 1,065 points over 19 NHL seasons. He also had 2,219 career penalty minutes.