Preview: Blues at Wild

When: Saturday, March 23 at 1 p.m. CT
Where: Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN
Watch: Bally Sports, Bally Sports app
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUES The St. Louis Blues got back in the win column with a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

The Blues were outshot 39-27, but Joel Hofer came up big with a highlight reel's worth of saves to keep his team ahead all game.

"I think (Hofer) definitely won us that game," Jordan Kyrou said after the win. "There were a lot of back-door open nets that he made some great saves on. Definitely kept us alive there and kept us ahead."

Kyrou led the way on offense with three points (one goal, two assists) for St. Louis. Head Coach Drew Bannister credited Kyrou's performance to simplifying his game.

"I just thought he kept things simpler," Bannister said. "He used his speed to his advantage and drove plays wide, and when he didn't have anything, he just put pucks underneath. If you look at the goals that he's scored, he was on the interior. He did a lot of that (Thursday), and he got rewarded."

With the Blues' (37-30-3) win Thursday and the Wild's loss, St. Louis has leapfrogged Minnesota in the standings and is just four points back of Vegas, who holds the second Wild Card spot. A win in the Twin Cities could make Monday night's battle with the Golden Knights a winner-take-all for the last playoff spot.

WILD The Minnesota Wild had their eight-game point streak snapped Thursday night with a 6-0 thrashing by the Los Angeles Kings.

The Wild were without Jonas Brodin and Joel Eriksson Ek - two of their top players - as they tried to gain ground on Vegas for the final Wild Card spot. Minnesota has found itself within striking distance of the playoffs a few times but couldn't close the gap. When the Wild visited St. Louis on March 16, they were just four points out of the playoffs, but they lost in a shootout.

"It's frustrating," Marcus Foligno said. "I think it's tough when you have (Brodin and Eriksson Ek) out. You play the best teams, and you have two of your best players at the positions out, it's not easy. We got a little exposed in those areas (Thursday), but yeah it is frustrating. We could have made it a one-point deficit, but our focus is that we're still in this thing."

The game got out of hand quickly for the Wild. The Kings led 3-0 after the first period. Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled in the second after allowing five goals on 16 shots. LA went 2-for-4 on the power play.

Mats Zuccarello was quick to point out, however, the box score didn't tell the whole story.

"To be honest with you," he said, "we didn't play a bad game. It was just one of those games where you feel like every bounce, every puck goes the other way...We were battling hard. The feeling was that we were in the game, we were creating chances and everything. That's hockey sometimes."

The Wild (34-28-8) are just one point behind the Blues in the Wild Card race. After Saturday's game, they get four days of rest before facing San Jose on March 28 and Vegas on March 30.

HEAD TO HEAD This is the third meeting between the Blues and Wild in March, and it's the last one of the season. The Blues have won both matchups this month and lead the season series 2-1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Nick Leddy is expected to play in the 1,000th game of his career Saturday. Leddy, who was drafted by the Wild in 2009, is from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities. Saturday will be Leddy's 169th game as a Blue after playing games with the New York Islanders (518), Chicago Blackhawks (258) and Detroit Red Wings (55).

WILD Brock Faber has continued to be one of the NHL's premier young defensemen. He and New Jersey's Luke Hughes both have 38 points, tying them for most points by a rookie defenseman and second-most points by any rookie, trailing only Connor Bedard (54 points).

BLUE NOTES

• Since Feb. 17, 2019, the Blues are 16-5-2 against Minnesota.
• With the Blues' next win, Doug Armstrong will move into a tie with Bobby Clarke for 10th on the NHL’s all-time wins list among general managers with 806.
• When the Wild came to St. Louis on March 16, the Blues blocked 31 shots, which is tied for the second-most in one game in Blues history. The Blues blocked 32 shots on March 18, 2008 at Montreal. It was just the fourth time since the NHL began tracking blocked shots in 2005-06 the Blues have blocked 30 or more.
• Since Jan. 20, the Blues' 16 wins are tied for sixth in the NHL, and their 33 points are tied for ninth.
• Jake Neighbours, who scored twice in Ottawa, is riding a five-game point streak, matching his career high, which he did earlier this season (Nov. 18-26).
• Thursday was Jordan Kyrou's fifth game this season with three or more points. The Blues are 5-0-0 in such games.
• Colton Parayko scored his 10th goal of the season on Thursday at Ottawa, which leads Blues defensemen and has matched his career-high, which he did in both 2018-19 & 2019-20.