Canucks at Blues
THE STORY: The top two teams in the Western Conference do battle Thursday as the St. Louis Blues host the Vancouver Canucks. The reigning conference champion Canucks lead the West with 57 points, with St. Louis right behind with 55. Vancouver has won two of the first three matches of its four-game road trip and has captured 10 of its last 14 contests away from home to tie the Philadelphia Flyers for most road wins (15) in the league. St. Louis, which has won four in a row overall, is kicking off a five-game stretch at Scottrade Center, where it has won three straight and gone 9-0-1 in its last 10. The Blues, who are coming off back-to-back blankings of Colorado and Montreal, have not posted three consecutive shutouts since December 1988.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (27-14-3): Mike Duco provided some unexpected offense in his second game with Vancouver, recording an assist in the 5-4 shootout win at Tampa Bay on Tuesday. It was the first point in 14 career contests with the Florida Panthers and Canucks for Duco, who also has registered 60 penalty minutes. Left wing David Booth may be ready to return to the lineup next week as he has been skating with the team during its road trip. Booth, who has notched five goals and seven assists in 19 games since being acquired from Florida, has not played since Dec. 6 due to a knee injury.
ABOUT THE BLUES (25-12-5): Captain David Backes has a goal in each of his last three games after netting just one over the previous 12 contests. He also enters Thursday with a four-game points streak. Defenseman Barret Jackman may miss the matchup against Vancouver as he left Tuesday's win over Montreal with a hip injury. Center Evgeny Grachev was assigned to Peoria of the American Hockey League on Wednesday and defenseman Cade Fairchild was recalled. Grachev recorded a goal and three assists in 24 games with the Blues while Fairchild posted a minus-1 rating in four contests during two previous stints with the club.
OVERTIME:
1. St. Louis has won three of the last four meetings in the all-time series.
2. Brian Elliott has allowed two goals on 62 shots in two wins against Vancouver this season.