5 Reasons to watch Blackhawks-Blues

The St. Louis Blues hope their Wednesday Night Rivalry game against the Chicago Blackhawks (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV) won't be their last one this season at Scottrade Center.
The Blues enter their final regular-season home game one point behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with one game in hand. St. Louis needs a win to jump ahead of Colorado. Each team has one more game before they face off in their season finale in Denver on Saturday.

The Blackhawks are assured of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007-08. But they'd like nothing more than to win the first of a home-and-home series and try to keep one of their biggest rivals from making the playoffs.
Here are 5 reasons to tune in:

Playing spoiler

The Blackhawks aren't going anywhere except home after Saturday. It would be a little consolation to have the Blues join them. "It'd be nice to see them miss the playoffs," forward Patrick Kane said of ruining their rival's season, "so it would be nice to have a hand in that."

Vladimir Tarasenko

The Blues' top goal-scorer (32) is a big reason they are making a late run at a playoff berth after a 1-7-2 slump. Tarasenko has scored five goals in his past six games, surpassed 30 goals for the fourth straight season and is St. Louis' most dynamic forward. He's had good success against Chicago during his NHL career, scoring 13 goals in 21 games.

Alex DeBrincat

Chicago's second-round pick (No. 39) in the 2016 NHL Draft has been one of the bright spots in a season that hasn't gone the way the Blackhawks and their fans expected. The 20-year-old forward is third among NHL rookies with 27 goals. That total is sixth all-time among rookies in Blackhawks history and one behind Denis Savard for fifth place. DeBrincat is the 13th Blackhawks rookie to reach 50 points (27 goals, 23 assists). He's had three goals and an assist in two games against the Blues.

Alex Pietrangelo

The Blues' captain is having a career season with 15 goals and 53 points while averaging 25:47 of ice time in 75 games. He's also tied for first among defensemen with five game-winning goals. Pietrangelo has been St. Louis' most dependable defenseman since opening night and his 30 points against Chicago (six goals, 24 assists) are the most he's had against any team during his NHL career.

Patrick Kane

Kane won't win the scoring title like he did two seasons ago, but he's still the Blackhawks' most prolific scorer. His 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists) are 22 more than runner-up Jonathan Toews and he's dangerous every time he touches the puck. Kane has surpassed the 20-goal mark for the 11th time in as many NHL seasons and he's had excellent success against the Blues since entering the League in 2007 with 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists) in 55 games.