BLUESThe St. Louis Blues earned an exciting win on Tuesday night, maintaining their offensive pace to beat the red-hot Vancouver Canucks in overtime. After a late goal forced overtime by Vancouver's Quinn Hughes, Jakub Vrana and the Blues kept the extra period short with Vrana's game winner coming less than 30 seconds into overtime.
"It's great to see that we've been creating a lot offensively," said Vrana after his first overtime goal as a Blue. "We're making some great plays - it comes from playing good systematically and winning battles, stuff like that gets you good chances."
The Blues have scored six goals in three straight games for the first time all season, driven by contributors up and down the roster. Sammy Blais, in what's been among the best stretches of his career, recorded two assists in the overtime win. Blais now has eight points amidst a five-game point streak, including three straight multi-point games.
The Blues look to keep up their momentum on Thursday, visiting the rival Chicago Blackhawks in the first contest of a two-game road trip. They will be without Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas, who are both dealing with upper-body injuries.
They'll visit the Blackhawks with a record of 34-34-6, worth 74 points and sixth in the Central Division.
BLACKHAWKSThe 2023 Trade Deadline marked a turning point for the Chicago Blackhawks, trading away three-time Stanley Cup Champion Patrick Kane to join forces with Vladimir Tarasenko and the New York Rangers.
Chicago also dealt forward Max Domi to Dallas ahead of the trade deadline, he and Kane being their top two point scorers this season. Though Jonathan Toews remains a Blackhawk, he has not played since Jan. 28.
Since the Kane trade on Feb. 28, the Blackhawks have struggled in the win column - going just 3-11-1 in their last 15 games. One of those three wins, however, came against the NHL-leading Boston Bruins in an impressive 6-3 game at United Center.
Taylor Raddysh posted the first hat trick of his NHL career in the March 14 win, on his way to sharing the Blackhawks lead in scoring over the recent span. Raddysh's hat trick capped off a four-game, seven point run for the 25-year-old forward - though he is scoreless since.
Chicago is hoping to snap a six-game losing streak when they host the Blues on Thursday, their third of a four-game home stand before heading out West for a three-game trip.
They'll face the Blues with a record of 24-44-6, worth 54 points with eight games remaining in the season.
HEAD-TO-HEADThe Blues are 2-1-0 against their Midwest rivals this season, winning in each building and falling 5-3 at Enterprise Center in late January. The Blues are 4-0-2 in their last six trips to Chicago, including back-to-back wins entering Thursday's game.
