Blues at Jets
With their chances of winning the Central Division growing dimmer by the day, the St. Louis Blues kick off a five-game road trip at the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. The Blues have dropped three of four and five of their last nine, giving up at least four goals in each defeat. "We're not paying any respect to defense, to managing the puck," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We're showing no respect for what matters in the National Hockey League at this time."
While St. Louis has dropped nine points behind first-place Nashville, the Jets are holding down the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference as they pursue their first postseason appearance since 2006-07. Winnipeg is 5-2-1 following a six-game skid and opened a four-game homestand with a 4-2 victory over Dallas on Tuesday. The Blues have been a nemesis for the Jets, winning five straight and eight of nine - including a 4-2 victory at Winnipeg on Nov. 23.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), TSN3 (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE BLUES (38-18-4): Hitting the road may not be the worst thing for St. Louis, which is coming off a 5-2 loss to Montreal to complete a 1-3-0 homestand. Captain David Backes scored in Tuesday's loss to reach 20 goals for the fifth time in his career while joining Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz as the third player on the team to reach that mark this season. Rookie Jake Allen had his six-game winning streak snapped by Montreal, which likely means St. Louis will turn to Brian Elliott, who has surrendered seven goals in his last two starts
ABOUT THE JETS (31-20-11): With Blake Wheeler joining Mathieu Perreault on the sideline due to injury, Winnipeg bolstered its forward line by acquiring Jiri Tlusty from Carolina on Wednesday in exchange for a third-round draft pick in 2016 and a conditional fifth-round this year. A former first-round selection who played for Jets coach Paul Maurice with both Carolina and Toronto, Tlusty has 13 goals and 23 points in 52 games this season. An unrestricted free agent, Tlusty scored a career-high 23 goals during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
OVERTIME
1. St. Louis is 7-1-0 in its last eight road games.
2. Winnipeg C Bryan Little, who had played in 227 consecutive games before sitting out Tuesday, was placed on injured reserve.
3. The Blues and Jets will square off three times in the next 22 days.