Preview: Blues at Ducks

When: Sunday, April 7 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Honda Center in Anaheim, CA
Watch: Bally Sports, Bally Sports app
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUES Entering Saturday, only three teams had beaten the St. Louis Blues three times this season. All three were Central Division rivals. Two of those teams (the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets) have already clinched playoff spots. The third team (the Nashville Predators) has a commanding eight-point lead in the Wild Card race.

Now you can add the last-place San Jose Sharks to that list.

"I think we've started pretty good against them," Jordan Kyrou said about the Blues' woes vs. the Sharks, "then we just kind of let them hang around. Then they get one or two, and you just can't really do that against this team. You've got to keep your foot on the gas and keep on at them."

The same happened Saturday, and special teams played a big role in the result. In the second period, William Eklund scored twice on the power play, giving San Jose a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. The Blues, meanwhile, only scored once in their five power-play attempts.

St. Louis managed to rally in the third. Kyrou and Brayden Schenn scored to send the game into overtime. However, Eklund completed his hat trick with 1:04 left in the extra period, making the Blues sustain another loss to San Jose.

"I thought we were good in the first and the second," Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "It seemed like maybe a little bit of frustration after our power plays in the second. Then we start to try different things through the neutral zone, force plays that aren't there, didn't play behind their (defense). All of a sudden, we're playing in our end more than we have to, we take a couple penalties and they capitalize on the power play."

The Blues also lost both Jake Neighbours and Justin Faulk in the game to upper-body injuries. Their statuses for Sunday are still unclear.

Wednesday, the Blues return to Enterprise Center for their final three home games of the regular season, facing the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken.

DUCKS When the Anaheim Ducks came to St. Louis on March 17, they were riding a five-game losing streak, and their offense was nowhere to be found.

Recently, they haven't been much better. They're 2-6-1 since that game, beating just the Chicago Blackhawks and Calgary Flames. They've averaged just 1.89 goals per game over that stretch, which is the fewest in the NHL. Last time out, they managed only one goal in a loss to the Kraken.

Historically, Anaheim has been a great place to play for St. Louis. The Blues have won three straight at Honda Center and are 11-1-0 in their last 12 trips to Orange County. Home or away, the Blues have won six straight games against the Ducks and have earned points in seven straight.

The Ducks are still a rebuilding team - they're the eighth-youngest team by average age (27.2) - but for now, they have a 25-48-4 record, the third-worst record in the Western Conference.

HEAD TO HEAD This is the third and final meeting between the Blues and Ducks this season. St. Louis has won both times, 3-1 and 4-2.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Brandon Saad has scored six goals in his last eight games, including three game-winning goals. Saad, who now has 26 tucks, is tied for third-most on the Blues.

DUCKS Troy Terry scored the Ducks' only goals when they came to Enterprise Center on March 17. Terry has 20 goals and 52 assists so far this season.

BLUE NOTES

• The Blues are 5-0-0 in Sunday games this season, including 3-0-0 on the road.
• The Blues are 32-5-1 this season when they score at least three goals in a game (does not include shootout goals). The Blues have reached this mark in each of its last six games against the Ducks. 
• Thomas, who had two assists Saturday, has 19 power play points (six goals, 13 assists) this season, which ranks fifth in the NHL. 
• Pavel Buchnevich has 11 points in his last 10 games (two goals, nine assists), recording three multi-point games in that span.
• Kyrou has 10 points in his last eight games (six goals, four assists), including back-to-back three-point games on March 21 and 23. Kyrou's 27 goals are tied with Neighbours for the team lead.