Preview: Blues at Maple Leafs
By
Andrew Pek
St. Louis Blues
BLUESWith the calendar turning over to 2023, the St. Louis Blues will look to establish new momentum when they kick off a four-game road trip this week in Toronto.
Starting on Tuesday, the Blues will face the Maple Leafs, Devils, Canadiens and Wild on the trip. When the Blues leave Minnesota on Jan. 8, they'll be at the exact halfway point of the 2022-23 season.
The Blues are starting the new year with some adversity, seeing Ryan O'Reilly\ and \Vladimir Tarasenko\ placed on injured reserve Monday morning. With Jake Neighbours called up from Springfield, the Blues will need all hands on deck to endure the veterans' - including Torey Krug - absences.
Tuesday's game is a chance for quick revenge against the Maple Leafs, who beat the Blues in overtime at Enterprise Center last week. Eleven different Blues recorded a point in the Dec. 27 battle, showing that there can be scoring ability up and down the lineup if faced with injuries and other challenges.
The Blues head to Scotiabank Arena with a record of 17-17-3, worth 37 points and fifth place in the Central Division.
MAPLE LEAFSThe Toronto Maple Leafs have been up and down in their two games since leaving St. Louis last week, falling 6-3 to the Arizona Coyotes and then winning convincingly over the defending champion Colorado Avalanche.
Toronto has now lost four straight games to the Coyotes, last winning on Feb. 11, 2020. In the time since then, the Maple Leafs have been the No. 4 team in the NHL by points percentage - the Coyotes, No. 31.
Quickly resetting, however, the Maple Leafs beat the Avalanche 6-2 in Colorado driven by two goals from Michael Bunting and multi-point efforts from Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares.
"I thought we did what we needed to do - scored a big power-play goal and were clean in the penalty kill," said Head Coach Sheldon Keefe. "(We did) a lot of good things here to help win a road game and close out a trip."
The Maple Leafs begin a three-game homestand on Tuesday against the Blues, continuing against Seattle and Detroit throughout the week. They host St. Louis with a record of 23-8-6, worth 52 points and second place in the Atlantic Division.
HEAD-TO-HEADWilliam Nylander scored the game winner for the Maple Leafs at Enterprise Center last week, giving the Blues a quick rematch opportunity to end the season series with a win on Tuesday. In their last 10 matchups with Toronto, the Blues are 7-2-1 with a 37-30 goal differential.
BLUESRobert Thomas, who leads the Blues with five points vs. Toronto over the last two years. Thomas had one assist in the Dec. 27 overtime loss, currently at a team-high 25 on the season.
MAPLE LEAFSAuston Matthews, reigning Hart Trophy MVP winner and one of three players leading the Maple Leafs with 42 points this season (along with William Nylander and Mitch Marner). Matthews has five points in his last five games, including one in their last bout with the Blues.
The Blues are 13-1-1 in their last 15 trips to Toronto, with their only regulation loss since Feb. 4, 1998 coming on Jan. 2, 2016... Six of the Blues' first seven games in 2023 will come against teams who currently hold a playoff spot... Blues defensemen have combined for 19 goals this season, which shares No. 6 in the NHL. They have also contributed six game-winning goals, which shares No. 1 in the League... Justin Faulk's six goals share No. 13 among all NHL defensemen... The Blues are currently five wins away from 2000 in franchise history; they are set to become the eighth NHL franchise to reach the milestone and second non-Original Six club.
