Blues at Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes look to get their offense back in gear after two straight losses, but it won’t be easy when they host the normally stingy St. Louis Blues on Sunday afternoon. The Hurricanes crept close to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference before suffering a damaging 3-1 defeat at Toronto on Thursday and dropping a 4-1 decision to Boston a day later.
Carolina is four points behind Pittsburgh for the final playoff position in the East and plays just two of its next nine contests at home. The Hurricanes will face an angry St. Louis team which has dropped three straight games in regulation for the first time this season after Saturday's 5-0 loss at Nashville. The Blues are among the league leaders in scoring defense (2.39) despite giving up 17 goals over their last four contests. Help is coming as defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is expected to return to the lineup Sunday after missing three weeks with a knee injury.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE BLUES (35-20-9): Jake Allen has struggled in three games (.870 save percentage) since returning from a knee injury and, with Brian Elliott (lower body) out, St. Louis acquired Anders Nilsson from Edmonton on Saturday for more depth in net. Nilsson (10-12-2, 3.14 goals-against average, .901 save percentage) was obtained for fellow goaltender Niklas Lundstrom and a fifth-round draft pick. Jori Lehtera missed Saturday’s game after being hit in the face with a puck Thursday and is questionable to play against Carolina.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (28-25-10): Carolina captain Eric Staal, an unrestricted free agent after the season, could be playing his last game in a Hurricanes uniform with the trade deadline looming on Monday. Staal has struggled this season with just 33 points but has notched two in his last three games. Carolina likely will be without defenseman Justin Faulk (leg), who has missed eight of the last nine contests, as well as Jay McClement (upper body) and Andrej Nestrasil (lower body).
OVERTIME
1. Carolina C Jordan Staal leads the team with 39 points but has been kept off the scoresheet in two straight games and was a minus-4 against Boston.
2. St. Louis RW Vladimir Tarasenko (team-best 29 goals and 54 points) did not register a point in either of the last two games but totaled five over the previous two.
3. The Hurricanes have earned at least one point in four straight meetings with the Blues (2-0-2), including a 4-1 triumph on Jan. 14 in St. Louis.