Preview: Blues vs. Blue Jackets

When: Saturday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Enterprise Center in St, Louis, MO
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
Tickets: Online at ticketmaster.com

QUICK HITS

BLUES The St. Louis Blues (20-19-4) earned their 1,200th home victory in franchise history on Thursday in a commanding 6-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

The Blues came out hot, scoring four goals in the first period. Robert Thomas struck first, followed by defenseman Tyler Tucker's first goal of the season and two more tallies from Jordan Kyrou and Dylan Holloway. The Ducks ended the opening period with their first goal of the night.

Thomas continued his momentum into the middle frame for his second goal on the night. Shortly thereafter, Pavel Buchnevich scored the Blues’ final goal of the evening before the Ducks answered.

This marked the fifth game in a row in which the Blues scored four or more goals.

Following slow starts in the previous two games, Head Coach Jim Montgomery discussed how his team responded on Thursday night, especially the first line.

“The Thomas line was a minus line in the last game and now they came out and they had two big goals," Montgomery said. "They had the first one, which is a really good checking goal, and they had the one that made it go from 4-1 to 5-1. They kind of really popped the air in the balloon of the game. So that was really good, but again we’re searching for the consistency, right? Now we got to keep building, just keep building and doing it right over and over.”

The Blues will look to find this consistency on Saturday when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets just one week after the teams' last matchup.

BLUE JACKETS The Columbus Blue Jackets (19-17-6) are seeking their fourth consecutive win when they visit the Blues on Saturday. On Thursday, the Blue Jackets defeated the Seattle Kraken in a dominant 6-2 performance.

After a 1-1 first period, the Blue Jackets took charge, scoring four goals in the second, including one from defenseman Zach Weresnki to extend his five-game point streak (two goals, seven assists). Each team tallied one in the third for the final score.

Rookies Denton Mateychuk and Luca Del Bel Belluz netted a goal and an assist in the win. It was Mateychuk's first NHL goal in his eighth career game and Del Bel Belluz's second NHL goal in as many games.

Del Bel Belluz was called up from the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, on Wednesday and Mateychuk was recalled in late December. Both rookies were drafted by Columbus in the 2022 NHL Draft, with Mateychuk being the 12^th overall pick and Luca Del Bel Belluz being the 44^th pick.

Goaltender Jet Greaves was also recalled from the Monsters on Friday. In Greaves’ four NHL games this season he has posted a 1-1-2 record and an .890 save percentage.

The Blue Jackets currently rank fourth in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Robert Thomas tallied two goals in the Blues’ 6-4 victory over the Ducks on Thursday night. In his last five games, Thomas has five points (three goals, two assists). In 31 games this season, the assistant captain has 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists).

BLUE JACKETS Kirill Marchenko leads the Blue Jackets in goals with 18 and is second on the team in points (46). The forward is on a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists). In the past 10 games, he has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists). In 179 games, Marchenko has 113 points (62 goals, 51 assists).

BLUE NOTES

• The Blues are 6-2-0 in their last eight home games against Columbus.
• Forward Dylan Holloway is on a five-game point streak (two goals, six assists).
• Defenseman Ryan Suter is expected to appear in his 1,488^th career game, which will move him past Wayne Gretzky for sole possession of 24th in NHL history in games played.
• Forward Jordan Kyrou earned his 300^th NHL point on Thursday. Kyrou is on a three-game goal streak (three goals) and has six points in his last three games (three goals, three assists).