Blues at Avalanche
The St. Louis Blues have fallen out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference thanks to a five-game losing streak, but they look to get back on track when they continue their three-game road trip Sunday against the league-worst Colorado Avalanche. St. Louis entered Saturday one point behind Los Angeles for the second wild card as it has scored a total of six goals during its skid, which was extended with Friday's 3-0 setback at Winnipeg in the opener of its trek.
Vladimir Tarasenko leads the Blues with 28 goals but has been kept off the scoresheet in each of the team's last four contests. Colorado fully understands St. Louis' current offensive plight, as it ranks last in the NHL in goals (123) and has netted a total of two tallies during a slide that reached three games with Saturday's 6-1 setback in Winnipeg. The loss concluded the Avalanche's three-game string on the road, where they have lost 15 of their last 16 contests, but continued a familiar theme as they scored fewer than three goals for the 12th time in 13 games. Captain Gabriel Landeskog scored Colorado's lone goal against the Jets, giving him three tallies in his last four contests following a seven-game drought.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE BLUES (31-27-5): Zach Sanford made his debut for St. Louis on Friday, recording a game-high four blocked shots in 13 minutes, 20 seconds of ice time. The 22-year-old rookie left wing was acquired Monday from Washington, for which he recorded two goals and one assist in 26 contests. Jori Lehtera, who has been kept off the scoresheet during the Blues' losing streak, is three points shy of 100 for his career.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (17-43-3): After scoring a career-high 30 goals last season, Matt Duchene has recorded only 16 in 58 games this campaign — but that total is good enough to give him the team lead. The 26-year-old center has struggled mightily of late, however, as he is mired in a six-game drought and has tallied in only four of his last 37 games after scoring in back-to-back contests Dec. 6 and 8 at Nashville and Boston, respectively. Rene Bourque has notched a point in each of his last two games after being kept off the scoresheet in 11 consecutive contests.
OVERTIME
1. Avalanche C Nathan McKinnon leads the team with 42 points but is in the midst of a 14-game goal-scoring drought.
2. St. Louis LW Jaden Schwartz will be playing in his 300th NHL game.
3. The Blues posted a 5-1 home victory over Colorado in the first meeting of the season Nov. 6 as 13 different players recorded at least one point.