BLUESAfter playing six games in nine nights, the St. Louis Blues had a much-needed three-day break this week. This March stretch began on the wrong foot as they dropped four in a row against Eastern Conference opponents.
A dominant win over the New York Rangers at Enterprise Center on March 10 helped to shift the tide as the Blues went on to win an important game over the Nashville Predators on the road and secured a point by tying Sunday's game against the Winnipeg Jets late in the third.
In a back-and-forth battle at Enterprise Center, the Jets scored consecutive goals in the third period to take a 3-2 lead, but with a little over two minutes to go in regulation, Jordan Binnington made his way to the bench in exchange for an extra attacker. Just a few seconds later, Jordan Kyrou set up Brayden Schenn to fire in a one-timer and tie the game at 3-3.
In overtime, Winnipeg was able to maintain puck control most of the period, and won the game with a goal from Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Not including shootouts, the Blues are now 1-6 in overtime periods this season.
"Overtimes have not been good this year for us, and that's on the guys that get put on the ice to do it - myself included - and we gotta be better," said Schenn. "Maybe we're a little bit antsy to go on the attack, before we have the puck or before we finish out the defensive play."
In the Playoffs, the overtime switches from a five-minute, three-on-three period to a full 20-minute, five-on-five battle. The Blues will certainly hope that these overtime issues will go away with this change if the regular season trend continues.
The team heads into Thursday night's matchup with the Penguins in second place in a tight Central Division, with a record of 34-17-8 and 76 points.
PENGUINSAfter the Blues left Nashville with a 7-4 win, the Pittsburgh Penguins fell 4-1 to the Predators on Tuesday night.
The Penguins had difficulty getting pucks past goaltender Juuse Saros, who came away with 35 saves on 36 shots for the win. Backup Casey DeSmith played in net for Pittsburgh, allowing three goals on 24 shots.
While the Penguins will be looking to right the ship after a tough offensive game, the Blues could capitalize on a streakiness that Pittsburgh has shown this season. Despite a strong record and likely Playoff position, the Penguins have lost consecutive games seven times this year - the Blues have done so five times. On the opposite side, the Penguins have recorded separate win streaks of 10, six and five games.
Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby have been the biggest point contributors for the Penguins, with 60 and 59, respectively on the season. Evgeni Malkin's play has also been strong since his return from injury in January, scoring 24 points in 25 games.
The trip to St. Louis on Thursday will be the Penguins' second of a three-game road trip, which wraps up in Arizona on Saturday.
Pittsburgh's record of 36-16-9 is good for 81 points and third place in the Metropolitan Division as they prepare to face the Blues.
HEAD-TO-HEADThree third-period goals by the Penguins turned the tide on the Blues' Jan. 5 game in Pittsburgh. A 3-2 lead turned into a 5-3 loss as five separate third-period penalties prevented the Blues from generating offensive momentum of their own.
Including overtime games, the Blues and Penguins have split their season series in each of the last six seasons they faced each other.
