BLUESThe St. Louis Blues will look to cap off their season-long homestand with a win on Tuesday after a tough loss to Chicago on Saturday.
Two early goals put the Blackhawks ahead, and a strong late game by the Blues was not quite enough to overcome the deficit as they fell 5-3 to their Midwest rivals.
"We've had some guys out, but we're battling hard and playing hard," said Brayden Schenn. "People are at us just because of the start we had, and it's hard to climb out of it. But, if you look at our record (since), guys are playing hard and playing together."
Schenn and the Blues are confident that, despite the loss to the last-place Blackhawks, their season trajectory has been on the rise for the last two months. Since the Blues snapped their early eight-game losing streak with a win over the Sharks on Nov. 10, their 20 wins share No. 6 in the NHL and their 123 goals only trail Edmonton for the League lead.
Looking to cap off the season-long homestand, the Blues host the Buffalo Sabres for a chance to go 4-3-0 in the seven-game stay at Enterprise Center. Their 23-21-3 record is worth 49 points and places them sixth in the Central Division, still within one point of Nashville.
SABRESThe Buffalo Sabres have been looking to rise up the standings after hosting the Blues just before Thanksgiving, playing at a postseason-worthy 15-8-3 pace since the Nov. 23 win over St. Louis.
Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin lead the young roster in scoring, playing as two of the best at their positions this season. Shortly after the Sabres hosted the Blues, Thompson logged his second six-point night of the season - no other NHL skater even has one this year. Dahlin is also the only defenseman to log a five-point game, finishing with two points and three assists against Minnesota on Jan. 7.
Trying to break out of a 1-4-0 stretch, the Sabres have earned points in three straight games entering a back-to-back set starting in Dallas on Monday. While the Blues have two days' rest between games for the second time in two weeks, Buffalo will be finishing their third back-to-back of the New Year on Tuesday before continuing the road trip in Winnipeg and Minnesota.
The Sabres' two game homestand, during which they raised goaltender Ryan Miller's jersey to the rafters, saw an overtime win over the Islanders and a 6-3 win over Anaheim.
They head to Enterprise Center with a record of 24-19-3, worth 51 points and fourth place in the Atlantic Division following Monday night's win in Dallas.
HEAD-TO-HEADThe Blues fell 6-2 in Buffalo earlier this season, driven by five unanswered goals by the Sabres over the final two periods. The Blues have won nine straight home games with Buffalo, however, their longest active home win streak against any opponent.
