Blues at Bruins
The Boston Bruins have won five in a row at home but that streak will be in jeopardy when then red-hot St. Louis Blues pay a visit Tuesday night. The Bruins rebounded from back-to-back drubbings at Original Six rivals Toronto and Montreal with a 2-1 victory over visiting Carolina on Saturday afternoon. "What you've gone through the last two games, I don't think you're automatically going to turn the page," Boston coach Claude Julien said after Saturday's win. "We've got to build ourselves back up there, and today was a good start."
St. Louis has won 10 of its last 11 as it kicks off a road trip that features four games in a six-day span. The Blues have outscored their opponents 14-5 during their current three-game winning streak - all at home - and have not surrendered more than three goals since a 4-1 setback to Vancouver on Oct. 23. St. Louis is one point behind first-place Nashville in the Central Division following a 4-1 victory over Washington on Saturday, which captain David Backes called the team's "most complete game of the season."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVA, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE BLUES (11-4-1): Leading scorer Vladimir Tarasenko has been a human highlight reel with nine goals in 10 games and forms a lethal unit along with rookie center Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz on the "STL" line. Lehtera is riding a seven-game point streak and notched his first hat trick in a 6-1 romp over Buffalo on Nov. 11, which ignited a three-game stretch that earned him NHL First Star of the week honors on Monday. Lehtera followed up his three-goal effort by collecting a pair of assists in a 4-3 victory over the Predators before netting the opening goal in Saturday's 4-1 romp over Washington - his fifth tally in four games.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (11-8-0): Center David Krejci, who has been sidelined for four straight games and six of the past seven due to a lower-body injury, skated with the No. 1 line at Monday's practice and could be set to return to the lineup. Boston's injury-ravaged defense also could be getting reinforcements after Kevan Miller took part in his first practice Monday since suffering a dislocated shoulder that has had him on the shelf since Oct. 18. “Right now he’s practicing and he’s a full go, so we’ll take it one step at a time,” Julien said of Miller. "It’s whether we feel he’s had enough practice, or feel comfortable putting him in."
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis swept the two-game series last season and has won six straight in Boston.
2. The Bruins have permitted only eight goals during the five-game run at TD Garden
3. Blues G Jake Allen, a winner of four straight starts, has never faced Boston.