Blues meet Panthers before beginning the bye week

ST. LOUIS - The Blues will host the Florida Panthers at Scottrade Center on Tuesday night before taking a five-day break for the NHL's bye week, which was first implemented last season.
"I'm looking forward to (this game)," Blues Head Coach Mike Yeo said. "If we win this game, then we go into the break saying we're 4-1-1 heading into the break, and I think we'd all be very pleased with that."
The puck drops at 7 p.m. The first 12,000 fans in the building receive a Blues fleece blanket courtesy of Ameren Missouri. Fans not attending the game can follow the action on FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO or KMOX 1120 AM. Coverage is also available at stlouisblues.com and by using the NHL app.

THE MATCHUP

BLUES The Blues turned in a strong effort Sunday in Washington, but the Capitals got a break during a Blues' line change in overtime that proved to be the difference as Niklas Backstrom scored with 43 seconds left in the extra frame.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen and Carl Gunnarsson scored in the 4-3 OT loss. Carter Hutton made 29 saves.
"I thought we played a very good game today," Blues Head Coach Mike Yeo said after the game. "There was a period of time where they had some pushes. That's a great hockey team over there. There were a couple of things that maybe we could have done better, for sure, but the response from the players was very good. They competed very hard.
"We knew it was going to be a tough challenge with the back-to-back games and playing a red-hot team," Yeo added. "I thought we did a lot of really good things that gave us a great chance to win the game."
PANTHERS The Florida Panthers were frustrated by Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on Sunday. Bobrovsky made 42 saves to secure a 3-2 shootout victory for the Blue Jackets, which handed the Panthers their third consecutive loss.
Prior to losing three straight, Florida had won five consecutive games.
Despite the loss, Panthers Head Coach Bob Boughner is looking at the positives.
"It was a good point, a hard-fought point against a real good hockey team," Boughner told NHL.com after the game. "Both teams had good goaltending. We've got to take the point and move on. We found a way to get a point in a tough building."
Currently, the Panthers are seven points out of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, posting a record of 17-18-6 (40 points). Jonathan Huberdeau (15 goals, 25 assists), Vincent Trocheck (15 goals, 22 assists) and Aleksander Barkov (13 goals, 24 assists) lead the club in scoring.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues lost the first matchup between the teams 5-2 back on Oct. 12 at BB&T Center. Vince Dunn scored his first career goal in that game, beating Roberto Luongo with 1:09 remaining in regulation.
The Blues are 8-3-0 in their last 11 games overall against the Panthers but have lost two straight against Florida at Scottrade Center.

HOT VS. FLORIDA

• Paul Stastny has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 15 career games against the Panthers.
  - Vladimir Tarasenko has nine points in nine career games against Florida (three goals, six assists).
  - Carter Hutton is 2-0-0 with a 0.96 goals-against average, a .966 save-percentage and one shutout in two career starts against the Panthers.

BLUE NOTES

• The Blues were 20-0 in games this season when leading after two periods. The loss in Washington makes them 20-0-1.
  - Carter Hutton has helped the Blues earn points in four straight starts, posting a 3-0-1 record.
  - Vladimir Tarasenko has six points in his last six games overall (three goals, three assists).
  - Carl Gunnarsson scored his fourth goal of the season Sunday, tying a career-high previously set during the 2010-11 season and 2011-12 season.
  - Jay Bouwmeester was the Panthers' first-round pick (No. 3 overall) at the 2002 NHL Draft. Bouwmeester spent six seasons with Florida, posting 203 points (53 goals, 150 assists) in 471 games.