At the Rink: Blue Jackets at Blues

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues are fully aware of the run that the Columbus Blue Jackets are on entering their game on Saturday (FS-O, FS-MW).

And in situations like these, a potential playoff team facing one that likely won't make it, those can be the most dangerous situations for teams like the Blues (46-21-7, 99 points).

After a 5-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, Columbus recorded with its seventh straight road victory that tied a franchise record for most wins on the road (21) in one season. The Blue Jackets (35-35-4, 74 points) have won five in a row, are 8-1-0 in the past nine games and have won nine of 11.

And Columbus beat the Blues 7-1 on Feb. 6 to end St. Louis' 13-0-1 streak.

"I think you have to mindful of their record the last while," Blues left wing Steve Ott said of the Blue Jackets. "Obviously we don't see these guys very often, but I think they're 9-2 in their last 11. They're playing some really good hockey against some really good teams and when you do that, I think that's a bigger reason to be more cautious. Our situation at the time, we just threw that game [on Feb. 6] out the window and we start over."

Columbus has scored 22 goals during its five-game winning streak and for the first time all season, the Blue Jackets appear to be healthier than any other point in the season despite currently missing six players.

The Blue Jackets have lost 476 man games due to injury coming into the game Saturday, more than any team in the NHL.

"I think it's typical of when you look at the standings and you see a team below you in the standings and not going to make the playoffs, your assumption is, 'Well, this might be easier than we think,' and the second part is the players don't really look at who's injured," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of the Blue Jackets. "They've had a season full of nothing but injuries and haven't even put a roster on there that's remotely close to what they started with at training camp.

"Now they're getting a little bit healthier, if you can say five guys out is healthy. And they look very dynamic. They've got a ton of skill, they're scoring goals like crazy, they're beating good teams. To me, when I watched the Anaheim game [Tuesday] and I watched the Chicago game [Friday], they're exactly the same. If you're sloppy against them, they make you pay."

The Blues are 16-2-1 the past 19 against the Blue Jackets on home ice.

Here are the projected lineups:

BLUE JACKETS

Boone Jenner - Ryan Johansen - Cam Atkinson

Scott Hartnell - William Karlsson - Marko Dano

Brandon Dubinsky - Artem Anisimov - Nick Foligno

Corey Tropp - Mark Letestu - Jeremy Morin

Jack Johnson - David Savard

Kevin Connauton - Cody Goloubef

Fedor Tyutin - Dalton Prout

Sergei Bobrovsky

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched: Justin Falk

Suspended: Jared Boll

Injured: David Clarkson (oblique), Jack Skille (shoulder), Matt Calvert (concussion), Ryan Murray (lower body), Alexander Wennberg (hand), Rene Bourque (upper body)

BLUES

Alexander Steen - David Backes - T.J. Oshie

Jaden Schwartz - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko

Dmitrij Jaskin - Paul Stastny - Patrik Berglund

Steve Ott - Marcel Goc - Ryan Reaves

Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo

Jay Bouwmeester - Zbynek Michalek

Barret Jackman - Kevin Shattenkirk

Brian Elliott

Jake Allen

Scratched: Chris Butler, Robert Bortuzzo, Chris Porter, Olli Jokinen

Injured: None

Status report: Oshie was absent from the morning skate because of sickness but Hitchcock said they expect him to be available to play. If Oshie can't play, Jokinen will draw in and likely play on the third line and Berglund will move up with Steen and Backes. ... Despite facing 33 shots Friday, Bobrovsky is projected to start Saturday. ... Gunnarsson returns after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury. ... Jaskin comes back in for the Blues after being a healthy scratch Tuesday. ... Boll will serve the second of his three-game suspension Saturday. … Shattenkirk will play for the first time since Feb. 1 (25 games). The Blues were 14-8-3 without him in the lineup.

Who's hot: Atkinson has five points the past two games, which includes his second NHL hat trick Friday. Johansen has a six-game point streak (three goals, five assists). Hartnell has nine goals the past nine games. Dano has eight points in eight games. ... Steen has points in three straight games and eight points (five goals, three assists) the past seven games. Backes has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) the past 12 games.