BLUESThe St. Louis Blues moved to 3-2-0 on the homestand on Thursday, beating the Nashville Predators 5-2 to overtake them in the Central Division standings.
After an early Predators goal was overturned for goaltender interference, the Blues scored five goals in a 23-minute span in the second and third periods to build steam and down their division rivals.
Mixing up his forward lines, Craig Berube saw many of his stars get back on the scoresheet - Jordan Kyrou, Brandon Saad, Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn added goals - while continuing to see productivitiy from his depth pieces. Alexey Toropchenko scored his third goal of the season and Tyler Pitlick added two assists for his second multi-point game of 2023.
With another rivalry game on the horizon, the Blues have an opportunity to keep their strong January going when they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Since 2023 began, the Blues are No. 8 in the NHL in points-percentage and No. 6 on power-play efficiency.
They'll play the sixth game of a seven-game homestand with a record of 23-20-3, worth 49 points and fifth place in the Central Division.
BLACKHAWKSThe Chicago Blackhawks have been playing some of their best hockey of the season in recent weeks, winning five of their last six games after a disastrous 2-20-1 span through November and December.
This recent stretch featured overtime wins over Calgary and Buffalo, though also included an 8-5 loss to the red-hot Seattle Kraken in which Seattle scored six goals in the first period alone.
The Blackhawks quickly shook it off in their next game, however, scoring in the final minute of regulation to tie it up against Buffalo and eventually winning in overtime - both goals thanks to defenseman Seth Jones.
Chicago is coming off a 4-1 win in Philadelphia, their first of a two-game trip concluding on Saturday in St. Louis. Including Tuesday's win over the Flyers, the Blackhawks have just one home game out of their last six before the All-Star break - traveling to Western Canada after hosting the Kings on Sunday.
The Blackhawks head to St. Louis with a record of 13-26-4, worth 30 points and trailing Arizona by three at the bottom of the Central Division.
HEAD-TO-HEADThe Blues are 2-0-0 against the Blackhawks as they enter the third matchup out of four this season, last winning 3-1 at Enterprise Center on Dec. 29. The Blues have won four straight games against Chicago, outscoring the Blackhawks 17-4.
