Preview: Blues at Red Wings

When: Saturday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. CT
Where: Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI
Watch: ABC, ESPN+
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUES The St. Louis Blues are looking to maintain their momentum after a 4-0 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday. Heading into that contest, the Blues had dropped three of the previous four, losing twice to the Toronto Maple Leafs and once to the Nashville Predators.

Pavel Buchnevich, however, had just what the Blues needed. He scored three times to beat New York and get his squad back on the right track. The offense had trouble early, but 4:38 into the second period, the Blues offense exploded for three goals in just 32 seconds, the fastest three goals in franchise history.

The Blues' offense was also helped by an outstanding effort from Jordan Binnington, who recorded a 38-save shutout to tie Curtis Joseph for third on the Blues' all-time wins list (137). In his last 15 starts, Binnington has a 9-5-1 record with a 2.20 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.

"It was a special night," Binnington said after the game. "It was fun, the building was loud, guys were playing hard. It’s a big win, too, before we get some road games here."

Thursday was also special for 2021 first-round pick Zack Bolduc, who made his NHL debut after getting called up from the Springfield Thunderbirds. The 19-year-old logged just under 10 minutes of ice time, which Blues Head Coach Drew Bannister attributed to the amount of penalties between both teams.

“That was a hard game for him to play in," Bannister said of Bolduc. "We had 10 penalties between both teams, but I thought he showed a lot of maturity…Overall I thought he played very well.”

With the win over New York, the Blues own a 30-24-2 record, giving them a narrow lead over the Predators for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

Saturday's matinee in the Motor City kicks off a three-game road trip. After Detroit, the Blues will visit both the Winnipeg Jets (Feb. 27) and Edmonton Oilers (Feb. 28) before returning to St. Louis.

RED WINGS The Detroit Red Wings have had a flair for the dramatic lately, winning their last two games in overtime. After returning from Seattle, they secured a 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

Like he's done all season, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin led the charge in the win. He scored Detroit's lone regulation goal before assisting on Patrick Kane's game-winner in overtime. Larkin has a team-best 51 points (25 goals, 26 assists) in 50 games this season.

The Red Wings had a rocky start to the season with injuries, but they've rebounded in a big way. Detroit is 13-4-2 since Jan. 1; only the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers have better records in that span.

"Every game's huge right now," Kane said after Thursday's game. "I think this group and this team has done a great job to get into this position and be playing these meaningful games...Every game is almost a must-win, and you try to pick up as many points as you can here down the stretch."

The Wings are winning with contributions they're getting throughout the roster. They have 14 players with at least 20 points this season, which is tied with the Hurricanes and Vancouver Canucks for the most in the NHL.

Head Coach Derek Lalonde sees a lot of the same in the Blues.

"St. Louis [is] playing the game correctly," he said Friday. "Depth, they look like us; they're getting scoring throughout their lineup. That first line is playing at a high, high level. Binnington is unbelievable, even last night...We know it's going to be hard. This will present yet another extremely difficult challenge [Saturday]."

The Red Wings enter the contest with a 30-20-6 record, which puts them in the top Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning by a point. After the game, the Red Wings take a short road trip to face the Blackhawks on Sunday.

HEAD TO HEAD The Blues and Red Wings met at Enterprise Center on Dec. 12, where Detroit won 6-4. The Blues are 6-3-1 against the Red Wings in their last 10 meetings, dating back to 2017-18.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Pavel Buchnevich tallied his third career hat trick against the Islanders on Thursday. Buchnevich now has six points (five goals, one assist) in his last four outings.

RED WINGSPatrick Kane, the longtime Chicago Blackhawk, faces his old divisional foe for the 74th time in his career Saturday. Kane has 24 points in 25 games with Detroit, including Thursday's overtime winner against Colorado.

BLUE NOTES

• Seven players between the Blues' and Red Wings' active rosters have played for both teams in their careers: Robby Fabbri, Ville Husso, Klim Kostin, Nick Leddy, David Perron, Oskar Sundqvist and Jake Walman.
• The Red Wings will play their second of three consecutive games against the Central Division on Saturday. Detroit is 5-5-0 with a goal differential of -2 against Central teams this season.
• Brayden Schenn has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 12 career games in Detroit, the most of any active Blue.
• The Blues' power play continues to roll. With Brandon Saad's power-play goal against the Islanders, the Blues have scored on nine of their 28 power plays in February (32.1%).