Preview: Blues at Maple Leafs

BLUES AT MAPLE LEAFS

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUESTrailing 2-1 entering the third period was no concern for the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Brayden Schenn scored his first goal of the season early in the third period and Sammy Blais scored his team-leading second goal not long after that, helping the Blues to a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars.
The victory was the Blues' first of the 2019-20 season.
For the second time this season, the Blues had a second period they would like to see improve.
"I thought our first period was really good, especially the first 10 minutes," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said. "The second, again, it was kind of similar to the first game, and it's all self-inflicted."
"It's not going to be easy. People are going to be playing hard every game. That's the NHL," added goalie Jordan Binnington, who made 28 saves. "Every night is a tough game. There's skill on every team. You've got to be prepared, do your best and play hard for each other."
The Blues are embarking on a season-long 10-day road trip, which will include four games, a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame and a visit to the White House in Washington, D.C.
MAPLE LEAFS The Toronto Maple Leafs have scored a League-leading 14 goals in their first three games and are 2-0-1 to begin the 2019-20 season.
Austin Matthews scored twice (and has five goals this season) in Saturday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Alexander Kerfoot, Trevor Moore and William Nylander also contributed goals in the game for Toronto.
Matthews has a goal in each of his three games this season, becoming the third player in Maple Leafs history to have multiple season-opening goal streaks of at least three games. Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly are tied with Matthews for first on the club in points (5).
HEAD-TO-HEAD Monday's game marks the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. The Blues and Maple Leafs will go head-to-head again on Dec. 7 at Enterprise Center.
The Blues swept the season series in 2018-19, outscoring the Maple Leafs 7-3.
St. Louis has won six straight games against the Maple Leafs and three straight on the road.

HOT VS. TORONTO

• Jaden Schwartz has 11 points in nine career games against the Maple Leafs (three goals, eight assists).
  - Vladimir Tarasenko has nine points in his last nine games vs. Toronto (six goals, three assists).
  - Alex Pietrangelo has six points in his last six games (two goals, four assists).

BLUE NOTES

Ryan O'Reilly scored the overtime game-winner in the last meeting between the teams. The goal gave the Blues a 3-2 win, extending their franchise-best winning streak to 11 games… With his next point, Alex Pietrangelo will become just the second defenseman in Blues history to record 400 points with the franchise. Al MacInnis leads all Blues defensemen with 452 points… Vladimir Tarasenko will play in his 500th career game. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Tarasenko ranks fifth among Western Conference players with 66 goals against the Eastern Conference… Binnington has stopped 58 of the 63 shots he has faced through two games this season… David Perron's next goal will be the 200th of his NHL career.