BLUES The St. Louis Blues kept rolling Thursday, posting a League-record 13th comeback win with a 2-1 victory against the visiting Seattle Kraken at Enterprise Center.
The team collected a point in its 13th consecutive home game (12-0-1) despite playing without David Perron, Brayden Schenn, Vladimir Tarasenko, Colton Parayko and Scott Perunovich due to COVID protocols. Before the game, the team also lost Logan Brown to a non-COVID related illness.
"You're not always going to get the lead," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said after the game, referencing the Blues trailing 1-0 entering the third period for the second straight game. "It's nice to get the lead. Things happen, and you know, you get bad bounces, whatever it is. You've got to just stay with it and keep pushing. I think our guys are good at that."
The Blues will lose another player to COVID protocols Saturday after Pavel Buchnevich tested positive on Friday. Buchnevich has been one of the teams hottest players of late, recording 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in his last 10 games.
Berube said Friday it was too soon to tell whether any of the players still in protocol would be available for the game against the Maple Leafs.
"We've got some guys that feel good and want to play, but until you test out or your days are up, that's the only way you can (return)," Berube said. "Right now, I'm not sure who is available out of those guys."
The Blues will look to extend their home point streak to 14 games, which would match the second-best mark in team history. The franchise record is 21 games (18-0-3), which was set during the 2011-12 season.
MAPLE LEAFS The Toronto Maple Leafs will make their first trip to St. Louis of the season on Saturday night.
The teams were originally supposed to meet on Dec. 23, but that game was postponed when the NHL and NHLPA decided to stop cross-border travel prior to the Holiday break.
Toronto has a record of 23-9-3 this season (49 points), which is good for third in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and 9-5-2 this season on the road.
Toronto is coming off a 2-1 loss Wednesday in Arizona.
