Canadiens at Blues
The Montreal Canadiens ended a recent goal drought with a solid performance on Tuesday night. Building on that momentum could prove challenging as the Canadiens face the host St. Louis Blues on Thursday. Max Pacioretty scored twice and added an assist in Montreal's 3-1 triumph over Phoenix, while the Blues look to bounce back from consecutive losses to Ottawa and San Jose.
St. Louis comes into the contest with one of the strongest defenses and goaltending units in the NHL, but has struggled in both areas of late - surrendering at least three goals in four straight games. The contest against the Sharks was over early, as San Jose jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second period and cruised from there. Montreal finally broke out against the visiting Coyotes after being limited to just four goals in its previous four games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, RDS (Montreal), FSMW (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (21-12-3): St. Louis' reputation as one of the top defensive clubs in the league is known - and Montreal is taking it rather seriously. "When you play a team like that, they just don't give you anything," Canadiens defenseman Josh Gorges told the Montreal Gazette. "You're not going to get any freebies. You're not going to get turnovers in the neutral zone where you can capitalize on an (odd-man rush), things like that. They're going to make you earn everything you get."
ABOUT THE BLUES (22-7-4): St. Louis rewarded forward Alexander Steen on Wednesday for his sizzling start to the season, signing him to a three-year contract extension worth more than $17 million. The 29-year-old has been a revelation for the Blues this season, scoring 22 goals - two off his career high - and adding 14 assists. Steen, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, anchors a potent power play that comes into Thursday ranked in the top five in the league at 23.1 percent.
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis is 5-0-1 in the last six meetings, with four of those games decided in overtime or shootout.
2. Steen has five goals and seven assists in 22 career games versus the Canadiens.
3. The Blues have won 41 of their last 55 games against Eastern Conference foes.