Penguins at Blues
The St. Louis Blues continue their five-game homestand Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. St. Louis has won five of its last six contests and has earned at least one point in eight of its last nine (6-1-2). The Blues built a three-goal lead at home against Calgary on Thursday before settling for a 3-2 victory.
Pittsburgh is coming off a disappointing 5-1 road loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, a setback that put an end to the team's four-game winning streak. The Penguins' offense has been sputtering of late, producing fewer than four goals in eight of the last nine contests. Superstar Evgeni Malkin has gone nine games without a goal, last scoring on Oct. 17 against Philadelphia.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (11-5-0): Right wing James Neal participated in his first full practice in over a month Thursday. The 26-year-old, who has been sidelined since suffering an upper-body injury in the season opener against New Jersey, is not yet ready to return to action. "It's going to take a couple weeks to get back and feeling good," Neal said. "I'll get back as quick as I can. I'm not going to rush anything."
ABOUT THE BLUES (10-2-2): Alex Steen's amazing start continued Thursday as the 29-year-old scored his league-leading 14th goal. The tally extended the left wing's career-best point streak to nine games. Steen has scored a goal in eight of his last nine contests and is 10 away from matching his career high set in 2009-10.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh allowed a total of five goals during its winning streak before yielding five against the Rangers.
2. Blues G Brian Elliott posted his 100th career victory on Thursday.
3. The Penguins signed F Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond to a two-year contract on Thursday.