Preview: Blues at Maple Leafs

BLUES AT MAPLE LEAFS

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUES Pavel Buchnevich scored the go-ahead goal with 1:19 left in the third period on Thursday night in Montreal, but late-game heroics from Canadiens' forward Cole Caufield kept the St. Louis Blues from walking away with two points.
Caufield scored with 10 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then scored the game-winner 2:22 into the extra frame to secure a 3-2 win for the Canadiens - the first behind the bench of new interim coach Martin St. Louis.
"That's a frustrating one because we need every point we can get right now," Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly said after the game.
The Blues, who sit in third place in the Central, are battling to keep pace with the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators for the top positions in the division.
The Blues traveled to Toronto with a 1-0-1 record on their current four-game road trip.
Vladimir Tarasenko, the team leader in points, will not be in the lineup due to an injury
. Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said Tarasenko was considered day-to-day.
The team has four players from the Toronto area on the roster: Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Jake Walman and Jordan Binnington.

MAPLE LEAFS Goalie Jack Campbell made a season-high 45 saves on Thursday night for the Maple Leafs, lifting his team to a convincing 4-1 against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena.
Auston Matthews contributed a goal and an assist in the win, extending his point streak to nine games. In that stretch, Matthews has recorded eight goals and 10 assists.
The Maple Leafs have compiled one of the League's best home records, going 18-4-1 at Scotiabank Arena this season. As of Friday afternoon, the club was comfortably in the third place in the Atlantic Division, just three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for second.
The arena will allow 50 percent capacity for Saturday's game against the Blues, a significant upgrade from the 500 fans that were allowed for earlier games on the Blues' road trip in Ottawa and Montreal.
HEAD-TO-HEAD Toronto won the first meeting of the season between the clubs 6-5 at Enterprise Center on Jan. 15.
The Blues have lost their last two games against the Maple Leafs, but won the previous seven. Dating back to April 1, 1998, the Blues are 13-1-1-1 in their last 16 trips to Toronto.
As of Friday, the Blues had the second-best power play in the NHL, converting at a rate of 27.1 percent. Toronto ranks first at 31.8 percent,
Saturday's game will be the final meeting between the teams in the regular season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Robert Thomas, who has scored in consecutive games entering Saturday's matchup in Toronto. Thomas has been centering a red-hot line with Buchnevich and Vladimir Tarasenko. In three games, the trio has recorded 16 points (five goals, 11 assists).
MAPLE LEAFS Jack Campbell, a 30-year-old goaltender who is putting together a career season for the Maple Leafs. Through 35 games this season, Campbell has posted 23 wins to go along with a .924 save-percentage and four shutouts.

BLUE NOTES

Craig Berube will coach his 400th game behind an NHL bench on Saturday. It also will be Berube's 239th game as the Blues' bench boss, passing Scotty Bowman for sixth in franchise history… The Blues rank fourth overall in the League with 361 points from forwards. The Florida Panthers are first with 398… Buchnevich is on a four-game point streak (one goal, six assists) and is five points shy of his career-high of 48 points.