Blues at Kings
The St. Louis Blues are on a tear, riding a five-game winning streak that has moved them to within shouting distance of the Chicago Blackhawks atop the Central Division. The Los Angeles Kings are headed in the opposite direction, having dropped three in a row to fall perilously close to the postseason cutoff line. A visit to Staples Center by the Blues could be the thing that changes both teams' course of direction as they face off Thursday night in the finale of a home-and-home set.
The Blues have struggled mightily in California's largest city, having lost 10 of their last 11 trips to Los Angeles. St. Louis can take solace in the fact that it's not only playing some of its best hockey of the season, but it opened the home-and-home with an impressive 5-2 victory over the stumbling Kings. Los Angeles looked impressive on the defensive end earlier in the month but is hemorrhaging offense of late, having surrendered 14 goals over the length of its skid.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FS-MW (St. Louis), FS-W (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE BLUES (21-8-2): Thursday will see St. Louis welcome back one of its key forwards while bidding farewell to another. T.J. Oshie will rejoin the team after missing Tuesday's tilt to be with his family following the passing of his aunt, who lost her battle with cancer. Oshie's return comes just as the Blues face the prospect of being without Jaden Schwartz, who suffered a broken foot in the victory over Los Angeles and is considered week-to-week; Schwartz is second on the team in goals (11) and points (27).
ABOUT THE KINGS (15-11-6): Los Angeles was dominated at both ends of the ice in Tuesday's loss in St. Louis, leaving captain Dustin Brown hungry for revenge in Thursday's rematch. "I think if you're not excited about playing (Thursday), after what happened in St. Louis, then we have bigger issues," he told the Los Angeles Times following Wednesday's practice. Coach Darryl Sutter is hoping for a better effort from forward Jeff Carter, who has gone without a goal in his past 13 games and has just two assists in his last 10.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles has won seven of the previous nine meetings, including playoffs.
2. The Kings have lost seven straight games when allowing five goals or more in their previous outing.
3. Martin Brodeur will start in goal for the Blues. The future Hall-of-Fame netminder is 2-1-0 with a 2.64 goals-against average.