Preview: Blues at Kraken
By
Elise Butler / Notes by Brett Barczewski
QUICK HITS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues (43-30-7) suffered a last-minute defeat to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, losing their second game in a row after a franchise-record 12 straight wins.
It was a back-and-forth matchup in Edmonton that saw the Oilers score with just 21 seconds left in regulation en route to the 4-3 win. The team was powered by superstar Connor McDavid, who had three assists in his return to the lineup from injury.
A bright spot for the Blues was the top line of Pavel Buchnevich (one goal, two assists), Jordan Kyrou (one goal, one assist) and Robert Thomas (two assists), who all had multi-point nights. Buchnevich has now scored in four consecutive games, matching his career-high which was set in 2016 with the New York Rangers.
"We're a good third-period team, we're always in it, we're always fighting," said Thomas after the game. "We gave ourselves a chance to win the game or get a point, and it's unfortunate the way it ended."
The team's focus now shifts to Saturday in Seattle. With just two games remaining, the final playoff spots still remain undecided. The Blues and Wild currently occupy the Wild Cards with 93 points in 80 games. However Calgary is lurking with 90 points and a game in hand just outside the cutoff line.
The Blues now control their own destiny in the postseason pursuit. Win their final two games, and they're in.
"We've got two games to lock down where we want to be, and we've got to get back to playing the right way and being dominant for 60 minutes," Thomas said.
KRAKEN The Seattle Kraken (34-40-6) host the Blues on Saturday to begin a two-game, season-ending homestand. The team is coming off a hard-fought 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on the road on Thursday.
It was the second contest in a row where forward Jared McCann had the lone tally for the Kraken. After potting 11 goals in three games last week, Seattle has scored just four in this week's trio of games so far. This season they are averaging 2.96 goals-per-game, 17th in the NHL.
The Kraken are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, but hold a better home record (17-17-5) than they do on the road (17-23-1). The team was 4-3-1 at home in March and have yet to play a home game in April.
Historically the Kraken have struggled against the Blues, who have won both games between the teams this season and five in a row overall against them. St. Louis is 4-1-0 in Seattle and 9-2-0 overall against the franchise since they entered the League in 2021-22.
The Kraken have already been eliminated from a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They currently rank seventh in the Pacific Division with 74 points in 80 games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Jordan Kyrou had a goal and an assist Wednesday in Edmonton, giving him five points (three goals, two assists) in his last five games and 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in his last 14. He is one of 11 players in the NHL this season with 30 goals, 30 assists and a +20 plus/minus rating. He ranks first on the Blues with 34 goals and second on the team with 67 points this season.
KRAKEN Jared McCann leads the Kraken this season in both points with 60 (22 goals, 38 assists) and plus/minus rating with a +10. The forward has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his last five games. McCann was selected by the Kraken in the Expansion Draft and has gone on to lead the team in points in every season of its existence. He is just 10 points shy of his season-high of 70, set in 2022-23.
BLUE NOTES
- Robert Thomas enters Saturday on a 10-game point streak (four goals, 18 assists), the longest active streak in the NHL. It is his third point streak of 10 or more games in his career and he is the fifth player in franchise history with three or more double-digit runs.
- Nathan Walker has set the franchise record for hits in a single season with 278. The previous record was 276, set by Ryan Reaves in 2014-15. The NHL has tracked hits since 2005-06.
- Ryan Suter is expected to dress in his 1,525th career game, moving ahead of Brendan Shanahan for sole posession of 19th all-time.
