When: Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
QUICK HITS
BLUES Sunday was a big night for Brayden Schenn and the St. Louis Blues (33-28-7). After celebrating the captain’s 1,000-games milestone, the team went on to rout the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 7-2.
Schenn started the scoring just 41 seconds into the game, and the team kept it going with an offensive outpouring, including three power-play goals. Pavel Buchnevich, Dylan Holloway, Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph, Jake Neighbours and Oskar Sundqvist all got on the board for the Blues in addition to Schenn.
Jordan Kyrou followed up his hat trick on Saturday with another impressive performance on Sunday. He collected three assists, making him only the fourth Blue in the last 30 years with three-point games on consecutive days.
The Blues are now 5-2-1 in March, 8-2-2 since the 4 Nations break and have worked their way back into the playoff conversation. The team is now tied with the Vancouver Canucks in points, however the Canucks currently maintain the second Wild Card spot having played one less game.
"We know what's at stake and we know what position we put ourselves in," said defenseman Justin Faulk after the win Sunday. "But we're not there yet, we've got to keep going. It's a good feeling in here right now but we know it's got to continue and there's a lot of work left."
Following Tuesday’s game in Nashville, the team will return to St. Louis for a four-game homestand that starts Thursday with an important matchup vs. the Canucks.
PREDATORS The Blues are about to get very familiar with the Nashville Predators (25-33-8) as they face their Central Division rival three times in the next 10 days.
The Predators are back home to face the Blues following a California road trip that saw them go 1-1-1. They opened the trip with a win in San Jose, but suffered back-to-back losses over the weekend to Anaheim and Los Angeles. Prior to that, they had won their last four games.
It's been a difficult season for Nashville after an exciting summer that saw them make major free agent signings in Brady Skjei, Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos. However the team has struggled to find consistency and currently sits outside of the playoff picture.
They have gone 14-15-1 since the two teams last met on Dec. 27, a 7-4 win for St. Louis. Additionally, they have been without captain and top defenseman Roman Josi since Feb. 25 due to an injury.
The Predators made a few moves at the Trade Deadline, acquiring Michael Bunting from Pittsburgh in exchange for Tommy Novak and Luke Schenn, along with trading Mark Jankowski to Carolina in exchange for a draft pick. The team also claimed forward Jakub Vrana and defensemen Jordan Oesterle off waivers.
Nashville currently ranks seventh in the Central Division of the Western Conference with 58 points.
