Blues at Red Wings
The St. Louis Blues attempt to match their season high with a fourth straight victory on Sunday afternoon, when they visit the Detroit Red Wings. After starting the winning streak with a 4-1 triumph at Minnesota, the eighth-place Blues have improved their standing by defeating a pair of Central Division rivals. St. Louis skated to a 4-3 shootout win over league-leading Chicago on Thursday before posting a 3-1 home victory against Columbus the following night.
A triumph in the series finale on Sunday would vault the Blues past the seventh-place Red Wings, who own a one-point advantage despite playing two more games. Detroit, which sits one point behind the sixth-place Wild, posted its second win in three outings when it skated to a 3-2 road victory over Colorado on Friday. Pavel Datsyuk provided the honors by cleaning up a rebound at 4:44 of overtime for his second goal of the contest.
TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NHL Network-Canada
ABOUT THE BLUES (20-14-2): Captain David Backes answered a 14-game goalless drought by scoring in his last two contests. Backes, who is riding a three-game point streak, has three assists in four meetings with Detroit in 2013. Alex Steen has fared a bit better, registering one goal and four assists in those contests. He also is riding a three-game point streak (all assists).
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (19-14-5): Captain Henrik Zetterberg has blasted the Blues in 2013, collecting three goals and as many assists in four contests. Zetterberg, who had two assists on Friday, needs one more to reach 400 for his career. Jimmy Howard has yielded 12 goals in three meetings with St. Louis but owns an impressive 11-5-2 career mark versus the franchise.
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis has been perfect on the penalty kill over the last five games, keeping the opposition scoreless in 13 short-handed situations.
2. Detroit has recorded four power-play goals in its last three contests.
3. St. Louis will meet yet another Central Division foe on Tuesday, when it visits Music City for a date with Nashville.