BLUESEven though it was a difficult loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, the St. Louis Blues should have a good idea of what their biggest point of emphasis can be as they continue their three-game road trip.
The Penguins showed Blues Head Coach Craig Berube and his staff the need for improvement on the penalty kill by scoring two power-play goals and scoring another goal moments after Tyler Pitlick exited the penalty box.
"We score, we take a stupid penalty and then it's in our net again,"
said a frustrated Craig Berube
on Saturday. "We were outworked around our net."
After boasting the No. 5-ranked penalty kill in the NHL last season, the Blues are No. 31 this year - down from 84.1 percent to 66.7 percent. Despite the struggles this season, the Blues still have over a decade of defensive foundation to help keep confident - their 82.8 percent penalty kill since Doug Armstrong took over as general manager in 2010-11 is the third best in the NHL.
The Blues hope to turn around their recent slide in New York City on Monday, where they take on the Rangers for the first half of a back-to-back in the Big Apple.
They head to Madison Square Garden with a record of 11-13-0, worth 22 points and sixth place in the Central Division.
RANGERSThe New York Rangers have had an inconsistent start to their season after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
They have lost five of their last six games as they prepare to host the Blues for the third and final game of a homestand before facing the Golden Knights and Avalanche on the road later in the week.
New York showed their own penalty-killing struggles in their last game, giving up three power-play goals en route to a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
"It's frustrating, but you're not going to win if you don't compete," said Head Coach Gerard Gallant. "That's the bottom line. No matter how skilled your team is, compete comes first."
The Rangers continue to be led in scoring by Artemi Panarin (28 points), Mika Zibanejad (28) and Adam Fox (27), with Chris Kreider (22) also looking to follow up his 52-goal season last year.
They host the Blues with a record of 11-10-5, worth 27 points and fifth in the Metropolitan Division.
HEAD-TO-HEADThe Blues went 1-1-0 against the Rangers last year, with both teams winning at home. The Blues have scored at least three goals in four straight games against the Rangers, outscoring them 17-10 over those four games.
