Blues at Canucks
THE STORY: The Vancouver Canucks are comfortably ahead in the Northwest Division and hold a slim advantage in their bid to repeat as Presidents' Trophy winners. But coach Alain Vigneault's club has failed to secure a third-period lead in its last two outings - a stark contrast from the previous 26 such occasions which went off without a hitch. Vancouver will look to snap its modest two-game skid and keep hold of the top spot in the NHL on Thursday when the red-hot St. Louis Blues pay a visit to British Columbia.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSMW, RSNP
ABOUT THE BLUES (40-17-7): Coach Ken Hitchcock's club has been known for its dominating performances at the Scottrade Center this season. Its play away from the Gateway City as of late has been pretty solid, too. St. Louis skated to a 5-2 victory over Edmonton on Wednesday, marking the fourth win in as many contests on its six-game road trip. With 10 wins in their last 13 overall, the Blues are now tied with the Detroit Red Wings atop the Central Division and one point shy of Vancouver. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk recorded his second three-point performance of his career on Wednesday, but he has yet to score a goal in eight matches versus Vancouver.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (40-16-8): By all accounts, rookie RW Zack Kassian and C Samuel Pahlsson fared well in their respective debuts with Vancouver. Kassian nearly scored after a brilliant feed from captain Henrik Sedin and Pahlsson logged significant ice time in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. All-Star D Alex Edler, who netted the lone goal versus Phoenix, has failed to score and is a minus-15 in 16 career contests against St. Louis
OVERTIME:
1. St. Louis G Jaroslav Halak has started all four games on the road trip and is 4-2-0 in his career versus Vancouver. Brian Elliott was in net for all three meetings with the Canucks this season. The All-Star recorded a 32-save shutout on Oct. 26, stopped 28 shots in a win on Nov. 4 and suffered a 3-2 overtime loss on Jan. 12.
2. Vancouver G Roberto Luongo split a pair of 3-2 decisions against St. Louis this season. On Jan. 12, Luongo stopped 31 of 33 shots to improve to 14-11-0 in his career versus the Blues.