Blues at Hurricanes
THE STORY: The Blues’ five-game winning streak came to an abrupt stop in a shootout loss to Chicago on Tuesday. St. Louis has lost back-to-back games only twice since the New Year and will look to keep that number intact as it makes the third stop of a seven-game road trip in Carolina. The Hurricanes are back home after a road run of their own, going 2-2-1 in that span. Carolina and St. Louis have split their last 10 meetings going back to 2002.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Midwest, FXSO
ABOUT THE BLUES (45-18-8): The Blues blew a 3-1 lead against the Blackhawks, marking the first time this season they’ve failed to win when scoring three or more goals (36-0-1). St. Louis also watched its streak of 51 penalties killed come to an end after taking some undisciplined minors in the final two periods. The Blues were hit with seven total penalties and have been sent to the box 22 times in the past three games. They’re third in the NHL in penalties taken (347), averaging 12.54 penalty minutes per game – seventh most in the league.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (26-29-15): The Hurricanes may be back in the RBC Center, where they are 17-13-6, but catch a tough stretch of schedule. After losing 4-2 to the New York Rangers, the top team in the Eastern Conference, Carolina hosts the Western Conference’s best Thursday. The Hurricanes have managed just four total goals in their last three losses and are juggling their lines trying to snap the scoring slump. Leading scorer Eric Staal has only one goal in the last 10 games but has 10 assists in the span.
OVERTIME:
1. St. Louis has recorded at least one point in all but one of its games this month.
2. Carolina goalie Cam Ward can pick up career victory No. 200 with a win Thursday.
3. The Blues’ penalty kill streak stopped two short of tying the 1999-2000 Washington Capitals’ record of 53.