Preview: Blues at Penguins

BLUES AT PENGUINS

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUESThe St. Louis Blues are looking to regain momentum after losing both of a two-game homestand and four of their last five as they head East for a three-game trip.
A 64-second stretch in the second period made the difference on Thursday night against Carolina, in which the Hurricanes scored three unanswered goals on their way to a 6-4 win.
"That's happened a lot to us this year, where (other teams) get a bunch of goals right away," said Robert Thomas. "But, we battled back well - our power play got us a couple big goals, and we came out well in the third."
Thomas recorded a power-play assist in his return to the lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury, reaching a team-high 16 assists and 20 points on the season.
After facing off with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, the Blues finish the road trip with a back-to-back set against the Rangers and Islanders in New York.
They bring a record of 11-12-0, worth 22 points and sixth in the Central Division.
PENGUINSThe Pittsburgh Penguins have had their own streaky start to the season, losing seven in a row earlier and later going on a five-game win streak and seven-of-nine run.
Longtime Penguins Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both contributing this year and are No. 1 and 3 on the team in points, respectively. Crosby's 32 points this season share No. 6 in the NHL as of Friday afternoon. He ranks No. 2 on the Penguins all-time leaderboard in his 18th year with the club.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-3 win over Vegas, their third game of a five-game homestand. The Penguins were down 3-2 early in the third period, but Jake Guentzel and Kasperi Kapanen scored a pair of unanswered goals to win the game.
The Penguins have played an up-tempo offense this year and rank No. 8 in the NHL in shots per game. With the Blues also facing Florida (No. 1), Carolina (No. 3), and the Rangers (No. 5) all in recent succession, their defense and resiliency will continue to be tested.
Pittsburgh will host the Blues with a record of 12-8-4, worth 28 points and fourth place in the Metropolitan Division.
HEAD-TO-HEADThe Blues went 0-1-1 against the Penguins last season, but are 6-2-1 overall in their last nine trips to Pittsburgh.
The Blues have not allowed the Penguins a power-play goal in four of their last five matchups, going 18-for-20 (90 percent) on the penalty kill over those games.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUESTorey Krug, who scored his fourth power-play goal of the season on Thursday and now shares the NHL lead amongst defensemen in that category. In 24 career games against the Penguins, Krug has three goals and seven assists.
PENGUINSSidney Crosby, Penguins captain and three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Crosby has 12 goals and 20 assists this season, one of just three NHL players at those marks.

BLUE NOTES

The Blues will play eight of their next 11 games on the road, including a season-long five-game trip starting on Dec. 15 in Edmonton... On Thursday vs. Carolina, Vladimir Tarasenko recorded the 283rd and 284th assists of his career, moving him past Garry Unger for No. 8 on the Blues all-time franchise list and five shy of Pavol Demitra for No. 7... Blues defensemen have scored five power-play goals this year, the most in the NHL... Brayden Schenn's next game will be No. 800 of his NHL career... Jordan Binnington's next win in goal will be No. 100 of his career, set to become the sixth goaltender in franchise history to reach the milestone.