Blues continue homestand by hosting Ducks

ST. LOUIS - The Blues continue their four-game homestand tonight when they meet the Anaheim Ducks at 7 p.m. at Scottrade Center.
A limited number of tickets are available at the Scottrade Center Box Office or
online at ticketmaster.com
. Fans unable to attend the game can follow the action on FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO or KMOX 1120 AM.

BLUES Jake Allen stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced in a tight game against the Tampa Bay Lightning but suffered a 3-0 loss to snap a four-game winning streak on Tuesday. Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov were the only Lightning players to beat Allen, and Tyler Johnson added an empty-net goal to seal the win for Tampa Bay.
"Just look how tight the game was all the way through," defenseman Colton Parayko said after the game. "We definitely had our chances. Great saves by their goalie. I think that they do a great job of protecting their net, helping out with the second opportunities. But I obviously thought we did have our chances. We played well, we had some (offensive) zone time and things like that. I think it was just a good hockey game."
Despite the loss, the Blues remain in first place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and two points ahead of the division rival Nashville Predators.
The Blues will get Jay Bouwmeester back in the lineup after he missed one game with an injury. Alex Pietrangelo and Carter Hutton skated on Thursday and won't be available tonight, but Blues Head Coach Mike Yeo expects their return soon.

DUCKS Derek Grant, Jakob Silfverberg and Logan Shaw scored for the Anaheim Ducks in a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Goalie John Gibson made 28 saves. Ryan Getzlaf returned to action after missing 19 games with a facial fracture, but the Ducks lost Corey Perry to a lower-body injury late in the first period.
Anaheim has won two of their last three games and has climbed to a 13-11-7 record, which is just two points back of a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
THE MATCHUP The Blues lost the first meeting of the season against the Ducks, falling 3-2 on Nov. 29 at Scottrade Center. Anaheim had a 3-0 lead before Kyle Brodziak scored two goals late in the third period. Overall, the Blues are 5-3-1 in their last nine games against Anaheim and 10-3-2 in their last 15 games against the Ducks at Scottrade Center.
"They've got some guys coming back into their lineup right now. They're still in a desperate position and that desperation is showing up in their play," Blues Head Coach Mike Yeo said. "The work ethic they have, the structure, the tightness of their checking game, the commitment to get to the game… you're seeing it shift after shift. It's going to be a real hard game tonight in all areas."

HOT VS. ANAHEIM

• Vladimir Tarasenko has seven points in his last eight games (four goals, three assists).
  - Kyle Brodziak scored both Blues goals in the last meeting between the Blues and Ducks on Nov. 29.
  - Joel Edmundson has four points in his last six games (one goal, three assists).
  - Jake Allen is 5-1-0 with a .937 save-percentage, a 1.68 goals-against average and one shutout in six career home starts against the Ducks.

BLUE NOTES

• Patrik Berglund's next point will be the 300th of his NHL career.
  - Allen's next win will be the 108th of his career, which will tie Grant Fuhr for third all-time in Blues history.
  - Tonight marks Alexander Steen's 596th game as a Blue, which ranks eighth all-time in team history. On Tuesday, Steen tied Jamal Mayers in games played at 595.